Four Girls, Four Guys Oh, God
by WarriorArnelle
Summary: ON HIATUS The TH boys are off on their 2008 American Tour! Nothing can happen, right? WRONG! They run into four girls with ISSUES and end up having to help them. Will they fall in love? Will the girls accept it? bandxOC's
1. Landing in America

AN: Hallo, everyone!!!!!!! THIS IS TWINSWORDS AND WRITING STUFF THAT ISN'T ANIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! aren't you proud? Anyway, i got the idea for this while laying in bed at twelve o'clock at night, coming off a caffeine high... yeah, we all know how well that works out.... ^__^ anyway, i hope this doesn't fail at life, and that I actually got some of the personalities right... yeah.... ok, i'm done...

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL OR ANYTHING ELSE IN HERE THAT EXISTS IN REAL LIFE!!!!!!!!!

Runaway Love- Chapter One: Landing in America

_ Tom Kaulitz moved, with dreamlike slowness, through the club with his usual grace and authority. His eyes scanned the room, searching for the one girl that would keep his interest for more than five seconds. He glanced back at the V.I.P. section where two of his fellow band members, his brother and friend Gustav Schaffer were still sitting. Tom smiled, knowing Georg Listing, the final member of their band, was probably off dancing or drinking himself stupid. _'Good thing Gustav's the designated driver_,' he thought. The newly-turned twenty-year-old then returned his attention to the crowd of half-naked women and teens before him._

_ Slowly his smile turned predatory as his eyes studied them. Many young women approached him, asking for a dance or a drink. They bored him; they all did, after a while. He could never find that one special girl. As he bemoaned his single status, a twenty-ish woman with short blonde hair cautiously came closer, asking, as usual, "Hey, my man. You wanna dance with me?" Her hips swayed invitingly as she moved, and Tom almost accepted. But then, he saw her. His Shadow Woman. As usual, she stood towards the back of the dance floor, eyes cast down. She was dressed surprisingly conservatively, with a black tank top and dark orange cargo pants. Her nearly waist-length black hair hid the rest of her features, as he knew it would the rest of the night. However, regardless of her anonymity, he wanted her. Not in any perverted sense though, oddly enough; just to dance with her, talk to her, hold her. He felt his body heat up as crossed the floor, squeezing past sweaty, alcohol-scented couples until he reached her. Even when he stood right in front of her, the girl's eyes stayed glued to the disgusting floor beneath her shoes, a floor Tom spent most of his time not thinking about._

_ Sensing her timidity, he said, "Hi," as softly as he could, and she still jumped nearly a foot in the air. Her face rose from her feet, but his shadow kept it hidden. Her hair flowed back down around her, framing her face, all of which he could see was the top of her forehead. Luckily, he didn't need to see her to know she was beautiful and perfect._

_ She stared at him for what felt like an eternity before answering in barely more than a whisper, "Hi…" Her eyes slowly began to fall again, her chin dropping just the tiniest bit. Tom's hand flew out before he could stop himself and carefully tipped it back up so she was looking at him again._

_ "You wanna dance with me?" Inwardly he cringed, realizing he sounded just like the women he so despised. However, all his chagrin disappeared when her hand rose to cover his. He could tell she was smiling; how, he had no idea, but he just _knew_ that she was. _

_ "Sure," she said, her voice like a clear chime in the racket of the club. "I would like to dance."_

_ He lowered his hand from her chin, and hers followed. He felt a goofy smile come over his face, but he didn't care. He led her out onto the dance floor, and, almost as if the DJ knew what he wanted, the song changed to a quiet, slow-dance type. Tom turned back to her, still grinning, and placed his hands on her waist; her hands rose to land on his shoulders. Slowly, they began to spin across the floor, Tom's heart pounding in his chest so hard he thought she could feel it. As the song went on, he began to lose track of everything else in the room, until all he saw was her shadowy face, her long black hair twirling with their movement._

_ Time spun into infinity as they drifted across the floor, two ghosts lost in their own world. The girl's face slowly fell into his chest, right over his heart; heat blossomed through him, a happy, comfortable feeling. Peaceful. He stopped and put his arms all the way around her, pulling her against him. Her head tucked into the groove beneath his chin, as though they were two puzzle pieces that were made to fit together. He stood there for what felt like hours, and then her arms slid down his until she had reached down to the small of his back, returning his hug. Seconds passed into minutes, minutes into hours, and still they just stood there, sharing this brief time of perfect peace……………………………………………………………………………………_

MAY, BEGINNING OF AMERICAN TOUR

Tokio Hotel's plane touched down in Boston International Airport, bumping down hard enough to jostle Tom awake from his dream. With a groan, he turned his head to see his twin, Bill, blinking, apparently still half asleep. Across the aisle, Gustav looked remarkably awake, and was poking Georg to wake him up. Tom let his head fall back against the pillow first class riders got on overnight flights like this one. When he heard Gustav snicker softly, he opened one eye and glared at the older young man. "I don't know how you can be so… ALIVE… this early…" he grumbled in English, since they'd all agreed to only use their mutual second language while in an English-speaking country.. The drummer's grin just widened at his words.

"But it's not early," Gustav answered easily. "In fact, it's almost three in the afternoon."

"Still… jet lag's a bitch."

Bill's groggy voice interrupted. "Be glad we don't have a concert for a couple days…" His voice trailed off as he nearly fell asleep again. Gustav shook his head as Tom's eye closed.

"You two are almost as hopeless as this lazy lump," he stated, nudging Georg again. This time, the bassist's eyes cracked open, and he groaned as Gustav lifted the window shutter. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead, America waits!"

Georg mumbled something that sounded vaguely like, "Gonna kill you…"

However, with the help of the sun and Gustav's pestering, the Tokio Hotel band members were awake and more or less operational by the time the plane stopped at the terminal. Gustav clambered over Georg to get to the aisle where he could reach his carry-on bag in the overhead compartment. Georg again announced that he was going to kill him, and Gustav just grinned. "Ah, but you have to be awake enough to catch me first." He then jumped backwards and fell neatly on his butt as Georg lunged forward and tried to punch him in the face. Tom burst out laughing as Gustav sat there, stunned, and Georg just looked at him stupidly.

"You're getting slow, Listing. I remember when you could've had him unconscious before he could blink," he stated between snickers as he climbed over Bill, who flicked his ear once his feet were on the ground. "OW! What was that for?"

"I did _not_ want to wake up with your shirt smothering me." Bill glared as Tom started laughing again.

Gustav stated helpfully, "I thought you were already awake." Bill's glare moved from the now-purple Tom to Gustav, who looked ready to bolt at the slightest inclination. As well he should; Bill, once angered, held grudges _way_ longer than was necessary.

"Don't forget all those 30 Ways to Annoy Tokio Hotel lists on Google. I can use every single one of them from now until I get bored. Which will be a very long time." Bill had a slightly terrifying grin on his face as he said this, and Gustav visibly gulped.

"I think I'll just get my stuff and…" He rose, yanking his bag down from the overhead rack. "…RUN!" He took off down the aisle, stopped to thank the pilot, and shot out of the plane before any of the others could take two breaths. Tom and Bill exchanged glances and Georg just blinked dumbly. After a couple seconds, they all realized they needed to get moving before their manager lost patience with them.

Tom dug around beneath the seat for a moment until he found the cap he'd been wearing the night before as Bill pulled his and Tom's carry-ons down. Groaning again, Georg rose from his seat, tugged his backpack out from under it, and dug his iPod out from between his and Gustav's seats. After checking to make sure they had all their stuff and Gustav hadn't forgotten anything in his rush to escape Bill- however useless it was; they were going to be stuck on the tour bus together for at least three, possibly four, months- the three young men began a race down the aisle that ended with Tom tripping on the plane's threshold and faceplanting. Bill and Georg fell over him, landing in a three-man dogpile right outside the plane.

Gustav, as it turned out, hadn't left the exit hallway, not even to get away from Bill's wrath. He stood there, staring at the groaning Tom-Bill-Georg pile that had just crash landed at his feet. He burst out laughing as Tom shoved his younger twin and older friend off him before he suffocated. Bill and Georg extracted themselves from the human pretzel they'd formed and rose gracelessly to their feet. As the four of them headed towards the terminal entrance, Bill started running his hands through his hair, causing the other three to laugh. Ignoring them, he muttered, "I _so_ do not want to see a mirror right now…" Indeed, he and Georg looked like somebody had run a broken lawnmower across their heads. Their hair was knotted and static-y; Tom's hair was hidden under his hat and Gustav's, of course, never changed. Georg, realizing what his head must look like, just yanked the hood of his sweatshirt up. Still laughing, Tokio Hotel emerged from the exit hallway into the terminal where their not-so-pleased manager was waiting. He had a name, of course, but since none of the band guys liked him all that much, not one of them had bothered to commit it to memory. Thus his name was The Manager.

"What took you guys so long?" he nearly shouted at them once they were all in front of him. "I've been here for God knows how long, waiting, and you take forever!" Luckily, the man wasn't going to be with them for long; he was returning to Germany after getting their schedule ironed out. However, he was incredibly annoying even at the best of times, and three of the band members had just woken up. Hence, this was not the best of times.

"Not our fault we were all asleep until about five minutes ago," Georg announced.

"I wasn't!"

"You couldn't have been here for forever, and we didn't take that long!" Tom complained at the same time. The Manager went red and looked like he was about to explode when Bill intervened.

"Look, we're here now, so let's just get our stuff and find the hotel. You can yell at us more there, if you still feel the need to." Visibly deflated, The Manager led them to a more private baggage claim and stayed quiet while they retrieved their bags, which was actually rather amusing to watch: Georg ran around the turnstile chasing his bag instead of just waiting for it to come back around; Bill nearly got run over by Georg as he picked up his two giant suitcases; Tom dropped two of his three bags, one of which broke open, spilling his caps all over the floor; Gustav simply waited until the other three's theatrics were over and calmly gathered up his luggage while shaking his head with a tolerantly amused smile on his face.

* * *

LATER THAT EVENING: MERRIOT HOTEL

Bill, Tom, Gustav, and Georg sat around the small table in Tom and Bill's hotel room. The Manager sat on Tom's bed, explaining their tour schedule.

"As you already know, your first show isn't for a few days, so you've got some time to catch up on sleep and suchlike. You have two concerts here, an interview in Philadelphia, and then another concert in D.C. After that, you'll head down to southern Virginia for a show and interview." He paused, studying the faces staring at him. Bill was paying close attention, since this was really important to him. Tom's eyes were slightly crossed; The Manager wasn't sure if he was doing that on purpose or just wasn't paying attention. Georg was doodling on a napkin, and Gustav had an expression identical to Bill's. He cleared his throat roughly, startling Tom and Georg back into paying attention. "Anyway, as I was saying, after the Virginia stuff, you guys are headed straight down to Atlanta, Georgia. You remember that discussion we had right before I left? The one about two weeks of no shows or interviews?" All of them leaned forward expectantly, so he knew they remembered. "I couldn't give you two weeks straight, so instead you have four days in Atlanta, four in St. Louis, three in San Francisco, and three in New York. You also have concerts in all four cities, so there's a reason for each one. Between these break times, you have concerts and interviews in several of the cities you were successful in last, plus a handful the polls said your popularity has risen in." He held out the printed schedule to Bill. "Check over that, make sure there aren't any issues."

Bill took the schedule and looked over it, Tom reading it over his shoulder. Georg went back to doodling, and Gustav studied what he was drawing, choking back a laugh when he realized what it was. After a while, Bill passed the schedule on to Gustav, who shared it with Georg. Once they were done, (it took a little loner, due to Georg's short attention span) he handed it back to The Manager, who stuck it back in his briefcase. "Any questions or concerns?" At the four shaking heads, he went on, "I'm heading back tomorrow, and I don't want to hear a peep about bar fights, beaten girls, traffic tickets, or anything of that general sort. If I do, your lives are going to be miserable when you get back to Germany." The band looked sufficiently terrified at the idea of The Manager making their lives miserable. "Good." He stood sharply and headed for the door. "I will see you tomorrow, then, maybe. If not, I expect perfect behavior from all of you," at this, he looked pointedly at Tom and Georg, both of whom were known for their short tempers, "understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Georg chanted, not looking up from the napkin. The Manager glared at him, visibly restrained himself, and marched out of the room with a thundercloud hanging over him. The door snapped shut behind him, and Tom made a show of wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Man, that guy's annoying!" he burst out, shaking invisible sweat off his hand. Georg nodded emphatically. Gustav poked him in the side.

"Show them what you drew," he commanded. When Georg shook his head, Gustav yanked the doodled on napkin and showed it to Bill and Tom. They stared at it, then Bill fell back against his chair, covering his mouth with his hand to muffle hysterical laughter. Tom's head dropped to the table as his body shook with laughter. Georg's doodle was a devil version of The Manager with a huge potbelly, horns, spaded tail, and pitchfork. Georg began to grin as he watched the younger men laugh helplessly.

"I should do this more often! They're both actually quiet!" he gasped sarcastically. Gustav snorted with laughter, Georg following shortly after. The hysterics lasted for a good fifteen minutes before all of them began to calm down. Of course, after all the excitement and God knew how many hours of jet lag, everyone except Gustav was nearly unconscious around the table. Gustav, looking around at his band-mates and friends, decided to drag Georg into the adjoining room so they could all catch up on much-needed sleep.

Tomorrow, and the upcoming beginning of the American Tour, would begin soon enough.

AN: yay, cliffy... sorta... i love writing cliffies.... yeah.... review, yes? if i get.... 5 reviews, i may update sooner!!!!!!! aka, actually sit down and write.... yeah.... ^__^ This is TwinSwords signing off!


	2. Bill's Making Popcorn

AN: Hallo, again! I IZ ALIVE!!!!! By the standards of a zombie… but anyway, CHAPPY TWO, wOOt!!!!!! I'm so proud of myself; I actually sat down and wrote something!!! Two chapters in less than a week, yay for me!!!! Oh, yeah, one of my friends pointed out to me that the guys in the last chapter seemed kinda girly… I apologize for hat, if any one else noticed (I hope you didn't, but hey, if you did, that's fine too). Anyway, I have a decent excuse for that: I'M A GIRL!!!!!! Anyway, I'll be working on making them more masculine-seeming in later chapters…. Don't worry, though Tom'll seem waaaaaaaay masculine later… he's gonna be reaaaaaaaally, reaaaaaaaally perverted… it's gonna be fun to write….By the way, TwinSwords can't spell for crap; she hit the backspace button about a million times in this…. Ok, I'm done…

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT EXISTS IN REAL LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sadly) HOWEVER, I DO OWN RACHEL, REBECCA, AND LAUREN SUMMERS!!!!!!! STEAL THEM AND DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

The Great American Tour- Chapter Two: Bill's Making Popcorn

Previously:

_Tomorrow, and the upcoming beginning of the American Tour, would begin soon enough._

* * *

1 P.M. THE NEXT MORNING

Tom slowly rose to consciousness from dreamless sleep to the smell of something burning. Whining under his breath about bad smells, he opened his eyes to find the source of the smell. Bill was standing in front of the microwave that came with the room, holding a smoking bag of popcorn. Gustav was staring at him, shifting backwards slightly, as if he expected something to explode. This was a valid fear, as neither Bill nor Tom had any kind of cooking ability and anything they did make was liable to end up on fire or exploded. Georg couldn't cook either, but he at least didn't burn every food substance he came into contact with. Bill, carefully holding the edges of the bag, pulled the corners apart.

Tom nearly burst out laughing as black smoke gushed from the opening in the popcorn bag. Bill turned and glared at him. "I suppose you could do better?" he grumbled, tossing the bag into the trash. Gustav just shook his head, saying something about room service or him making breakfast.

Tom, between bursts of laughter, said, "I still don't see how we both manage to set popcorn on fire. _Popcorn_, the easiest of all microwavable substances, and we somehow manage to light in on fire. Every. Time."

"Yeah, but at least I can make edible pasta."

"You call that glop you make 'edible'?"

"More so than yours!"

"Hey, I only lit it on fire once!"

"It was freaking _ash_! That was not edible by _any_ stretch of the imagination!"

Gustav glanced back over at them. "Do you two mind?"

"Yes," the twins chorused before returning to their argument. After a while of traded insults, they both seemed to have forgotten the original point of the argument, ending up in a "did not; did too" disagreement. Gustav finally decided to step in and make them shut up.

"Ok, since you have apparently forgotten your ages and insist on acting like three-year-olds-" he was cut off as both of them turned and punched him. "OW! I wasn't done!"

"Whatever," they muttered in unison.

"I was going to say that one of you should get Georg up before he forgets how to breathe!" When Tom and Bill both gave him "yeah, right' looks, he mumbled, "Well, I was. Either way, will one of you please go make sure he's not zombie-fied?"

Tom agreed to go wake the beast, and Bill retreated to the T.V. Soon, the theme song of some random American cartoon filled the connecting rooms. Ignoring the obnoxious noise, Tom opened the door to Georg's and Gustav's room. Georg was currently buried in a mountain of blankets, only the top of his head showing. Tom slipped across the room, carefully avoiding anything he could possible trip over, plans running over each other in his head. '_Hmm… what to do, what to do… Ooh, got it!_' He went over to the window, which was right by Georg's bed- Gustav had probably planned it this way- and carefully opened the blinds, just enough so that the sun would be right in Georg's face when the blankets were pulled away. Then he went on the other side of the bed, where he'd be harder to reach, and yanked the covers down. Georg yelped as sunlight poured down on his unsuspecting face, jackknifing to a sitting position. Tom grinned, pleased that his prank had worked so well. Georg peeled his hand away from his eyes and turned to glare at Tom, who was cheering his genius to himself. "Yes! Oh, yes, it worked! I am a genius!"

"Genius? I am going to kill your genius ass!" Georg snarled, lunging across the bed. Tom launched himself at the conjoining door, hoping he could hide behind something until Georg calmed down some.

"He's gonna kill me!" he cried, hiding behind Bill, who sidestepped out of the way.

"No way am I getting in the middle of this."

"I don't wanna die!"

"You agreed to wake up!"

"I didn't think he'd get this angry! …Ack!" Georg had made his way into the other room and now had Tom in a headlock, a maniacal grin on his face. Tom squirmed, trying to get out, but only succeeded in half-choking himself. "Georg… can't breathe…"

"Kinda the point," Georg stated cheerfully, still grinning. Gustav came over with a bowl of something in his hands.

"We kind of need him, Georg. Don't kill him yet."

"HEY! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YET?" Tom yelled as best he could from his position. "Bill, a little support here would be nice!"

Bill just grinned. "Are you kidding? This is better than T.V."

"I hate you all."

"Aw, you won't in a few hours," Georg predicted, releasing his hold on Tom, who collapsed from lack of oxygen.

"Wanna bet?" he growled; seconds later, he started coughing and hacking, completely spoiling the "pissed-off" effect. Gustav handed the bowl he had, which turned out to have instant oatmeal in it, to Bill before returning to the microwave to make more. Bill turned back to the T.V., now that the fun was over, and Georg went and plopped himself down at the table. A few minutes later, Gustav had oatmeal for himself, Georg, and Tom, who still hadn't gotten up from the floor. There was a brief period of the three not half-dead young men eating in silence, then Georg got bored.

"So."

"So, what, Georg?"

"What do we want to do today?"

Tom, finally recovered from being half-strangled, plopped down next to Bill on the bed. "You're the last one to wake up, and you're already bored? What is wrong with you?"

"A lot. But that's not important, and besides, you should already know that."

Gustav interrupted before things could go south, yet again, with, "I was thinking about going to some museums." When the other three turned to stare at him, he grumped, "What? Boston has some really interesting ones. Besides, we'd be less likely to get noticed in a museum, and you all know it."

Starting to grin, Tom glanced around at Bill and Georg. "He's got a point, there, guys."

"I was thinking more along the lines of _fun_," Georg complained as Bill nodded.

His band-mates all rolled there eyes, and Tom told him, "Yeah, but you're idea of 'fun' would get us all ambushed by fangirls before the day's out."

"Would not!"

"Yes, it would," Bill and Georg chorused before diving behind whatever cover was closest as Georg started throwing coasters at them.

* * *

5:30 P.M.: AFTER A DAY OF MUSEUM-HOPPING, BACK AT THE MERRIOT HOTEL

"Ok, I admit it; that was interesting." Georg did not look happy at this admission; he looked even less pleased when the others all grinned and proceeded to make fun of him.

"I knew there was something intelligent in you!" Gustav announced, as Bill and Tom said, "It's not stupid!" at the same time.

"I'm going to quote Tom here: 'I hate you all.'" Tom came over and slapped him on the back.

"Aw, you won't in a couple hours."

"No, seriously, I hate you all. But, I have to admit, the museums were interesting… and possibly fun."

Complete silence greeted this announcement. Then Tom, Bill, and Gustav yelled, "WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE REAL GEORG?"

"HEY! I'm being serious here, guys."

"That's exactly why we're concerned. The _real_ Georg's never serious." Bill ducked behind Tom as an ashtray came flying at his face. Tom dodged, but, because Bill had ducked, instead of meeting his nose, the ashtray slammed into his forehead. He yelped loudly, but everyone ignored him.

"And why can't I be serious?"

"Because it's not natural." Yet another perfect chorus from Bill, who had somewhat recovered, and Tom. Sometimes it got creepy when they did that.

"You guys realize how creepy it is when you do that, right?"

The twins glanced at each other then, at the same time, they both shrugged and said, "Do what?"

"You two are strange."

Tom smirked. "And you aren't?" He thought for a second. "For that matter, which of us isn't?"

"Gustav?"

"Is that a compliment?"

"For the normal world, yes. For us, I have no clue." Tom smirked at Georg's answer.

"You're helpful," Gustav complained; Georg just grinned and nodded.

"I'm a basketful of helpful."

"There's an image I could have lived without," Bill called from the bathroom. Seconds later, the other three heard the shower come on.

"Wait… when did he… did he… just… teleport into the bathroom?" Georg stuttered.

Tom smacked him upside the head. "No, _dunkoff_; if you'd been paying attention, he headed there when we were talking about how strange we all are."

"OW! I am not unobservant!"

"Says the one who though Bill teleported." Gustav's voice echoed from the other room.

Georg blinked rapidly, trying to figure out where everybody was going when he wasn't paying attention. Apparently, his brain overheated, as steam started pouring from his ears. "Gah, you people confuse me!" He went into his and Gustav's room, ignoring Tom's parting, "Yeah, right; you confuse yourself!" and, a minute later, Gustav's yell of, "Hey, Tom? Tom, I think we broke him!"

* * *

TWO WEEKS LATER: After an exhausting two weeks of near-constant interviews, concerts, autograph sessions, and suchlike, Tokio Hotel approaches Atlanta, Georgia and the first of their brief "off" times… The first of their "close encounters of the female kind" comes closer and closer as the day of their last concert for four days draws sooner and sooner……………………………………………………………………………………………….

RACHEL SUMMERS

Rachel sat in the back of the lunchroom, as usual, with the remains of her school lunch in front of her and earbuds in. Tokio Hotel songs blared from her ancient MP3 player, her father's last gift to her before he walked out when she was ten. Rachel shook her head, pushing the bad memories away, and returned to her German notebook. One thing she liked about this stupid school- the only thing, really- was that it offered German as a foreign language, not just Spanish or French.

The song on her MP3 switched to "Rescue Me", and she took a break from German homework to sing along under her breath.

_This used to be our secret_

_Now I'm hiding here alone._

_Can't help but read our names on the wall_

_And wash them off the stone._

_I trusted you in every way,_

_But not enough to make you stay._

_Turn around… I've lost my ground…_

_Come and rescue me_

_I'm burning, can't you see?_

_Come and rescue me._

_Only you can _

_Set me free._

_Come and rescue me._

_Rescue me._

_Rescue me._

The song continued, but she stopped singing, her heart doing flip-flops in her chest as it always did when she listened to this song. The words reminded her of a child's longing for a parent, for the one that had loved her and left her. Since he' disappeared, she'd lost all memory of what it felt like to be loved, to be wanted.

In her ears, Bill sang,

_The walls are coming closer_

_My senses fade away_

_I'm haunted by your shadow_

_I reach to feel your face._

_You're not here; are you here?_

Rachel closed her eyes, wishing that she could say that to someone, and they would come and rescue her. She knew that was impossible, though. Her mother wished she didn't exist; her older sister felt the same. Her father had left her with a broken promise. She had no friends, no one to talk to, no one to trust.

A cold sweat broke out on her forehead as her body started to tremble. Recognizing the signs of an oncoming panic attack, she turned the music down a little and concentrated on breathing slowly and evenly. After a few agonizing minutes, the feeling passed.

God, she hated those. The first one had come when she was seven, and they'd increased in frequency an intensity ever since. There were times when the irrational fear got so bad, her mind couldn't handle it, and she would pass out. Luckily, that hadn't happened this time. With a barely audible sigh, she turned the volume of her music back up in time to hear the last few lines of the song. Her grey eyes fell to her German notebook, locking on to a stray strand of black hair that had fallen over it. With another small, helpless sigh, she tucked her nearly waist-length hair back over her shoulder and packed up her school things. A quick glance at the clock on the wall showed that lunch was going to be over in two minutes. Rachel rose swiftly from her table, heading towards the door.

* * *

AFTER SCHOOL, RACHEL'S HOUSE

Rebecca Summers stood next to her mother, Lauren, watching as she raised the beer can to her lips again. "So, Mom," she said as her mother swallowed and slowly turned to face her. "You remember that contest 99X was holding a few days ago? Whoever won the drawing got two free tickets to the upcoming Tokio Hotel concert?"

"Yeah, I remember, Rebecca. So?"

"I won." Rebecca blinked as her mother's eyes widened. The beer can dropped to the counter and was forgotten as Lauren reached out to hug her older daughter.

"That's fantastic! I know how much you like them."

"That's exactly it. I got two tickets, but I only need one. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me," she explained expectantly. She knew if her mother didn't want to go, she was stuck taking Rachel, her attention-grabbing younger sister.

Lauren sighed and frowned at her twenty-two-year-old daughter. "Sorry, baby, I've got stuff I need to do here. But, if you do go, take _her_ with you." Lauren never named her younger, unwanted daughter by name if she could help it.

Rebecca sighed, but she understood her mother's position. She felt the same way about the eighteen-year-old girl, who was called a beauty by some. Rebecca and Lauren both just saw the man who had betrayed them and had actually wanted the unwanted girl. "All right, Mom. I'll bring her with me."

"Thanks, sweetheart. Now, she'll be coming home soon, so if you want to leave her a note or something, that's fine, or just tell her. I've got to get back to my stuff." At Rebecca's nod, Lauren picked up her beer and headed for her bedroom.

Rebecca cursed softly under her breath. She really didn't want to have to deal with Rachel all through the concert. Maybe there was some way to get rid of her… Rebecca picked up the phone and called on of her friends who was going to the concert as well. She picked up, and together they planned out how to keep Rachel away until they were ready to see her.

AN: whew… end of chapter two…. Man this was fun to write…. Anyway, I want at least five reviews, NOT ALL FROM THE SAME PERSON (to a friend of mine) before I post chappy three… yeah, that little green button at the bottom of your screen is your friend… hit it and make TwinSwords extremely happy!!!!! (constructive criticism always welcome!)

This is TwinSwords signing off!!!!!!!


	3. The Concert

**AN: Hallo again! Yay, I am finally resurrected! And am not a zombie! I am sick, though, so I'm not sure how good all that is… blergh… anyway, CHAPPY THREE!!!!!!! wOOt. I apologize for any discrepancies in the last chapter, I just reread it and noticed about a bazillion typos and crap like that… also, the timing issues… bleh, I am an unobservant moron… anyway, to explain why Rachel is still in school in the middle of May: she failed several classes, mainly due to her lack of a decent study environment, and she has to retake them (AKA German, Math, and Physics). She's in summer school, which will be explained in the chappy ahead, but I wanted to give y'all a heads-up. You're welcome! Anywho, on with the disclaimer and the chappy!!!! (btw, yes, I am a born-and-raised southerner… so, yes, I will end up saying "y'all" a lot… get used to it)**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT EXISTS IN REAL LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sad face. T__T) HOWEVER, I DO OWN RACHEL, REBECCA, AND LAUREN SUMMERS!!!!!!! STEAL THEM AND DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (actually that's a lie… I don't like Rebecca or Lauren, so…. Never mind, you still can't have them…)**

Previously: _Maybe there was some way to get rid of her… Rebecca picked up the phone and called one of her friends who was going to the concert as well. She picked up, and together they planned out how to keep Rachel away until they were ready to see her._

* * *

4 P.M. EN ROUTE TO RACHEL'S HOUSE

Rachel strode along the well-beaten path leading from school to her home. She lived about two miles from the school, but the buses didn't operate during the summertime and her mother and sister sure as hell weren't going to waste time picking her up. So she was stuck walking two miles along some old, long-forgotten shortcut-that-wasn't. Her summer-school books felt like they weighed a ton though they were no heavier than during regular school. They probably just felt heavier because they reminded her of her senior year failures. She sighed, pushing those thoughts aside by turning the volume on her MP3 up so loud she could no longer hear them.

Tokio Hotel's "Ǘbers Ende der Welt" blared through the earbuds. Her feet hit the ground in time with the music as her head bobbed slightly with the beat. Her lips moved silently as she formed the German words as they rang through her ears. After a while though, she stopped listening to the words and started focusing on the background music. This song was her favorite, after "Rescue Me", mainly due to the guitar and drums in the song; they were beyond fabulous. Excluding the fact that the guitarist also happened to be her favorite member of the band, the way he played was still incredible. Same for Georg's bass playing and Gustav's drumming skills… they were all incredible. Rachel sighed again, wishing, not for the first time, that she would have the chance to tell them that… not that it would ever happen, or that they would actually listen to her… The music built up, leading into the bridge and the final chorus. She felt her mouth curve up in a smile. This part was the best, in her opinion. All other thought drained away as the music slowly faded into the end of the song.

Dark grey eyes slowly refocused on the path beneath her feet as another, quieter song began. Rachel rolled her shoulders under her backpack, feeling the pull of her Physics, German, and AP Statistics books. She grimaced as she was reminded again of the fact that she'd failed German second semester. She'd taken it for three years, was nearly fluent, and she failed out on the last series of tests and the final, thereby failing the class. Physics and Stat. weren't all that surprising; she'd been retaking Physics anyway, and she had no idea why she'd taken AP Stat. to begin with. Probably something to do with getting into a good college… not that that'd be happening now, what with her failing three classes her second and final semester of senior year. '_Whatever. Nothing to be done for it now, I guess,_' she thought as she trudged up yet another hill. One downside to living in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains was the hills. One could barely walk three feet before he or she discovered a hill. Breathing hard, with a slight stitch in her side, Rachel crested the hill and tried to ignore the sweat that was forming on her forehead and down her back. May was too hot a month to walk two miles of hill with a twenty-odd-pound backpack on.

As she grumbled to herself about the heat and summer school, she finally approached the road her family's house was on. She cautiously made her way up the lawn to the front door; her sister barged out as she was coming up. Rebecca, her brown-black hair just brushing her shoulders, brushed past Rachel, sparing her only the barest of glances. Rachel was about to slip in the door when Rebecca's voice stopped her.

"Check the table before you do anything."

"Why?" Rachel wanted to know, her voice softer than normal.

Rebecca sneered at her and headed for her car, calling, "Just do it," as she went.

"Fine." Rachel muttered something about rude older sisters, entering the Summers residence as quietly as she could. She headed straight for the kitchen, noticing the note on the table. She walked over to the table; the note was written in her sister's distinctive handwriting. Rachel picked up the note and dragged her backpack and tired self upstairs without her mother being aware she was even home. Once in the relative safety of her bedroom, Rachel plopped down on her bed, turning her attention to the note in her hand.

I won tickets to that Tokio Hotel concert this Friday. Mom doesn't want to go, so I'm stuck taking you. Don't give me any crap about "panic attacks". We both know you're lying, so don't even try.

Rachel read the note twice before what her sister was saying really sank in. There was a Tokio Hotel concert this Friday, and she was going. She glanced back at the part about the panic attacks, wishing they were really the crap her sister proclaimed them to be. Sighing, she pulled her German notebook out, yanking lyrics out from behind a bunch of busywork worksheets. She stared down at them for a second, feeling a sudden flash of fear as she thought of Friday night. Rock concerts… pep rallies at school almost caused her to black out. She could scarcely imagine how much worse a rock concert would be. Even if it _was_ her favorite band. Even if it meant she could see Tom live. Slowly, she slipped the lyrics back into the folder and set about doing her Stat homework. She would worry about the concert later.

After several hours struggling through math homework (she still had no idea why she hadn't dropped Stat. second semester), Rachel went downstairs to scrounge for dinner. Dinner was always an iffy subject in the Summers' household. Lauren rarely went shopping for serious food, and Rebecca was always with friends or eating out. Rachel didn't have friends to hang with or extra money for takeout, so she typically just made whatever happened to be in the pantry.

"Let's see here," she muttered under her breath, digging through the mess on the shelves. "Instant Ramen, macaroni, spaghetti… hot dogs… Good Lord, why do we have week-old spaghetti in the pantry? That should've been in the fridge… ah, well, looks like ramen tonight…" She dug out a bowl of beef ramen, stuck it in the microwave, and took it back upstairs to her room. Once there, she ate ramen and stared at the posters all her spare money had gone to. A signed poster of Tokio Hotel, a poster of them covered in mud, and at least three others. As Rachel studied them, she again started fretting about Friday. There was no way Lauren would let her stay home, and Rebecca wouldn't let her get away with not using the extra ticket. She drained the last bit of broth from the Styrofoam bowl and flopped back on her bed. The picture of Tom she'd had the guy at Kinko's print out poster size grinned down at her from the ceiling. She made herself smile back at it then grinned for real, realizing that she was smiling at a poster of a guy she had no chance at all to ever meet.

Without getting up, she threw the ramen bowl at the trash can, smiling grimly to herself when she heard it go in. She turned to look at the clock on her bedside table, amazed to find that it was nearly eleven. She'd been struggling with Stat since five. With a sigh and a soft curse, she stood up and dug around on her floor for a few minutes to find her pajamas, which basically were a pair of soft sweatpants and a cami. Changing quickly, she glanced one last time around the room at her posters. She then turned the lights off and made her way back to the bed with the sureness of intensive practice and made sure her alarm was on for another day of summer school torture.

Within minutes, she was asleep. And as she slept, she dreamed.

* * *

_Rachel floated. Nothing weighed her down; there was nothing to hold on to. She drifted through utter silence, struggling to move. Something held her arms at her sides and bound her legs together. A similar band lay across her mouth, rendering any noise she made inaudible. As she floated aimlessly, she became aware of sounds around her._

_ Loud music, a buzzer like at a basketball game, screams, shouting, laughter; all pressed at her, feeling almost like a wall of sound forcing itself on her. She looked up, hoping to see the night sky above her, something that had always helped to calm her when she was little. However, all she saw were hands grasping at her, covering any view she may have had of the only thing that could keep her feeling safe. She felt hands grasping at her and tried to fight back to no avail. The invisible bonds kept her helpless. But still she tried._

_ What felt like hours passed, and still she drifted, thrown from one set of hands to another; she could do nothing to stop them. As she felt another hand grasp her elbow, she finally screamed, though no sound emerged._

_ All of a sudden, the hands grasping her disappeared and she bumped against what felt like a wall. It wasn't. Strong arms wrapped around her, secured her. Rachel twisted around, trying to see who this person was. All she could tell was that it was mal, and he was holding her against his powerful chest. She buried her head against him, her hands grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. He either didn't care or didn't notice; he watched the grasping hands as they began to disappear. An aura of calm spread from him, causing the noise around her to fade as well, until all they were left with was a calm, peaceful silence. _

_Rachel finally dared to raise her head. Her savior was looking down at her, and she could almost see his concerned expression and the slightest hint of a proud smile on his face. She had to grin in return, and his expression, she just somehow knew, changed to one of pure joy. Joy that she was safe and pride that he had made her that way. She tried to thank him, but the band keeping her from speaking was still in place. That, combined with the finger placed on her lips, told her talking was not allowed here. She nodded once in thanks instead, and the man put her down. As she turned back to him, she finally saw the sky, clear and star-filled, with the full moon right behind his head. She stood by him, feeling calmer than she had since her father had left; he stood by her, not quite touching, but close enough that she knew he was there._

_Eventually, he turned to her and held out his hand. She knew that her moment was ending, that it was time to go home. Staring up at his hidden face, she placed her hand in his, trusting him to lead her safely home._

* * *

5:30 P.M. FRIDAY AFTERNOON

The days after her sister's announcement flew by. After her dream, she had blown through the crap from her sister and mother, school, and more crap from her mother and sister with the kind of calm that she felt in her dream. It wasn't until this morning that she'd started realizing what was about to happen.

All day during school hours, Rachel had bounced between being beyond excited and completely terrified of tonight. But now, here she was, at 5:30, getting dressed to go.

Rebecca was jabbering on about something or other in the bathroom down the hall as she fixed her hair and makeup. Rachel ignored her, or tried to, as she slipped into a pair of black jeans, an orange tank top, a black three-quarter-sleeve cropped black denim jacket, and the tiger's-eye necklace her father had given her for her eighth birthday. On her feet, she wore black and orange skater shoes. Her hair she brushed until it shone like a raven's wing, and she left it down, falling to her hips and swaying as she walked.

She paused to grab her MP3, as well as the ticket she'd been given on returning from school, and stuck them in her pocket and darted out of her bedroom to wait for Rebecca by the door. As she waited, she glanced at the hallway clock. It was 5:50. Her sister wouldn't be ready for another few minutes, so she stuck her earbuds in and turned on Tokio Hotel. Their song "Sacred" blared from the buds. Her head started bobbing in time to the music, her hair swooshing over her shoulder as she did.

At 6:05 exactly, Rebecca came tearing out of the bathroom, her brown-black hair spiked out in a crude parody of Bill's patented "lion mane" hairstyle. Her eyes were lined in black and she had purple eye shadow on, apparently trying to bring that color out from her blue eyes. Unfortunately, she didn't have any purple to bring out, but the color did emphasize the blue. She was wearing a strapless purple top with a black leather jacket, black jeans and combat boots, all in parody of Bill. Rachel sighed. Rebecca was six years older than TH's lead singer, and here she was trying to dress like him to freaking_ impress him_! '_There is something seriously wrong with her…_' Rachel thought, watching Rebecca run around getting all her stuff together. Finally at 6:15, she was ready.

Rachel sighed as Rebecca shoved her out towards the car. "Don't give me that; I was ready almost half an hour ago."

"Shut up," Rebecca demanded imperiously. "I look better."

"Sure, sure." Rachel ran ahead, and was already climbing into her sister's Honda before Rebecca could respond. "Come on, we might miss the opening," she called, mainly to get her sister moving. She would make them late and try to blame it on Rachel. Her ploy worked: Rebecca sprinted to the car, almost falling flat on her face in the process.

Thirty minutes later, they were on the MARTA en route to the Tabernacle, the place where most rock concerts took place. Granted, most of them were screamo bands who didn't know the meaning of good music. Rebecca was practically bouncing with excitement, completely ignoring Rachel's annoyed look. Rachel had kept her earbuds in and now turned the music up until she could no longer hear the noise of the train.

Finally, they ended up at the Tabernacle. Rachel stared at it, noticing the large outer lobby and the hundreds of people filling it. She figured there'd be more inside the actual stage area. She found herself shivering in foreboding. So much could happen in there: she'd heard the stories of mosh pits from rambling boys at school. Someone like her was more than likely to end up there and getting crushed.

'_Come on, Rache. Get it under control. Everything's gonna be fine, don't worry. Stick with Rebecca and you'll be fine._' She closed her eyes, going through this mantra a few times. Minutes passed until she finally was able to open here eyes and rationally study her surroundings. As she did, she noticed something that made her blood turn to ice.

Rebecca was gone. She was alone.

**AN: wow, that's a scary thought… a panic-attack prone person alone at a rock concert…. *shudders* all righty then!!!! Yay chappy three done!!!!!! *pats self on back* I win! Anyhoo, what will become of Rachel? Where did Rebecca go? (obviously) Who will step in and rescue our little damsel in distress? (again, that should be OBVIOUS if you've been paying attention…. Which you should've… anyway… That little green button wants a click!!!!!!! Make it and TwinSwords extremely happy and REVIEW!!!!!!! And you'll get cookies!!!!!!!!!**

**TWINSWORDS OUT!**


	4. First Meeting

**AN: Hiya, peoplez!!!!!!!! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And beyond ready for more awesomeness!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so proud of myself for actually sitting down and writing this… even if it means schoolwork is going undone… ^__^ eh, who cares about school anyway…. I'm almost done, so wOOt…. Meaning it no longer matters… ok, I'm done being a total spazzoid and school-hater… ON VITH ZE STORY!!!!!!!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL (sadly) OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT EXISTS IN REAL LIFE!!!!!!!!! I DO OWN RACHEL, REBECCA, AND LAUREN SUMMERS!!!! STEAL THEM AND SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!!!!!!!!!!!! **

Previously: _As she did, she noticed something that made her blood turn to ice. _

_Rebecca was gone. She was alone._

* * *

7:40, THE TABERNACLE: 20 MINUTES BEFORE CONCERT:

Rachel's head flew back and forth as she searched for her sister. However, all she saw were strangers, people she didn't know forcing her forwards toward the ticket kiosk. Suddenly terrified, Rachel tried to back away and found she couldn't. There were simply too many people all moving forwards.

She slowly allowed herself to be drawn ever closer to the yawning mouth of the doors leading into the Tabernacle. Girls shouted over each other, rambling on about their favorite band member or song, all trying to out-scream each other. To Rachel, the noise felt like a blanket being slowly wrapped around her nose and mouth. She couldn't breath and could barely move one foot in front of the other. Finally, though, she reached the kiosk and a brief moment of blessed quiet as she dug her ticket out and showed it to the security guard. He took it and looked at where she was supposed to sit.

"All right, Miss, you're close to the front, so take that last door to the left and go all the way down. And please be careful; there's no barrier, so some crazies might try and jump on the stage."

Swallowing hard, Rachel nodded and took her ticket back. The guard studied her face for a second, concern evident, but he let her pass before the press of the crowd forcibly shoved through. She stepped into the Tabernacle's main lobby, again assailed with horrendously loud screaming and the press of already-sweaty bodies. Rachel tried to ignore the crown and press her way to the bathrooms, but ended up caught up in the current of people heading into the "concert hall". She hoped that, once they got into the hall itself, the crowd would disperse some, allowing her something resembling breathing room.

It didn't.

If anything, it got worse. Hundreds of high-pitched voices shouted over each other, all fighting for supremacy. The group she'd been sucked into was part of that competition, as well; as it morphed forwards, the girls all shouted at each other, arguing over whether Bill was cuter than Tom and whether Gustav was more awesome than Georg. Rachel covered her ears, trying hard to maintain some semblance of rationality. Her efforts failed miserably when she realized where the group was heading: the area right in front of the stage. The mosh pit. The one place Rachel had been hoping to avoid, and now she was stuck there. As the bunch of girls reached the stage, she finally managed to break free and lean against the stage itself. She was immensely glad there was no barrier this time; had there been, she would have had nothing to cling to, nothing to allow her the smallest bit of comfort amidst the screams of fangirls and the pressing of bodies and hands against her.

Rachel took a deep breath before letting it out slowly in a loud hiss. This was going to be a _long_ night.

* * *

BACKSTAGE, RIGHT BEFORE CONCERT

Tom stuck his head in the back room of their backstage area. Bill had been in there for the last half hour, getting dressed and making sure every last little detail was perfect. He was so OCD sometimes it wasn't even funny.

"Are you ready _yet_?" he grouched. "We're going on in ten minutes!"

"Almost." Bill didn't turn away from the mirror as he spoke. "And you've been in here like every two seconds reminding me; it's not like I'm going to forget."

Tom nearly laughed out loud at that. "Baby brother, you forget everything," he answered, putting the "baby brother" in simply to annoy Bill. As usual, it worked.

"By ten minutes, Tom. You're older by a mere ten freaking minutes."

"Still older."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't. You just wish you could." He paused to check his watch. "And now you have five minutes."

"I_ know_, dammit!"

Tom rolled his eyes, teasing his brother. "No need to shout."

Bill glared at Tom in the mirror. "You are annoying," he informed him.

"So my last girlfriend told me. And you're out of time."

Bill shook his head as he turned away from the mirror. "Whatever. I'm ready."

"'Bout time."

Gustav and Georg both poked their heads around Tom, Georg glowering at Bill. "Come _on_, pretty boy, we gotta go!" Tom slipped out of the way as Bill launched himself at Georg, yelling, "Who you calling pretty boy?"

"You. Cause you are," Georg responded, completely unrepentant.

"Look who's talking," Tom called from the door. "Seriously, guys, our last show for four days, and you idiots are going to make us late!" _That_ got the others running. No one wanted to be late for a gig, and definitely not the last one before their time off. They raced down to the end of the hall, paused to regain their collective composure, waited for the opening band to exit the stage, and leaped on, ready to do what they did best, aside from acting stupid.

Perform.

* * *

RACHEL

Rachel heard the screams of the girls around her double in intensity as the clock hit 8:00. She raised her head just enough to see Tom, Georg, and Gustav all enter the stage and head for their respective instruments. Her eyes landed on Tom, noting the awkward way he walked to keep his three-sizes-too-large pants from falling off and the way his face lit up at the size of the audience. She felt her head rise farther as he moved out of her line of sight, soaking up the view of him lifting his guitar strap over his head, briefly revealing his muscular chest. As the girls swooned around her, and she felt her own breath catch, she figured he did that on purpose.

She spared a glance at Georg and Gustav, who were getting set themselves. Rachel then glanced around, realizing that Bill hadn't come out yet. Remembering the 1000 Hotels fiasco, she felt the slightest twinge of worry then realized that the others wouldn't be getting ready if he wasn't going to show.

'_Wonder where he is, then… Oh, wait, that's right; they do that sometimes… he'll probably come out in a sec_,' she thought, her eyes slowly moving back to Tom. And as she stared at him, the strangest thing began to happen.

The press of people on either side of her began to fade away; the noise of the crowd, less obnoxious. He gave off an aura of calmness and surety; an aura that bathed her in sweet peace and silence. That was, until the music started, and Bill came leaping onto the stage with his normal level of enthusiasm.

The screams of fangirls rose in volume yet again, and Rachel lost sight of Tom as hands reached out past her, trying to get Bill's attention. She ducked her head back against the stage as the fear swamped her yet again. Her vision faded out for a moment; she shook her head once, firmly, and it came back. A fine tremble started in her hands and legs. Rachel forced herself to breathe deeply, to not let the feelings overwhelm her.

Her attempts started to work, but then Bill called out to the crowd, "Here we are, in Atlanta! Thank you so much for coming out tonight-" He was cut off by hundreds of girls screaming his name. The girls around Rachel practically slammed her against the stage, hands waving at Bill, hoping to get some form of response. He did seem to notice, as his already bright smile grew even wider, threatening to split his face in half. "We're all so glad to be here, and we hope to give you all a great show!"

Hundreds of voices screamed back, "WE LOVE YOU, BILL!" Elsewhere, people were turning the band's name into a chant; it grew louder, a rising crescendo of voices shouting, "TOKIO HOTEL! TOKIO HOTEL!" Rachel tried to ignore the noise, attempted to get her nerves back under control, and failed utterly. Her legs felt weak and her hands were clenched so hard her nails were digging into her palms. As she fought to regain control of her body from the sudden adrenaline rush, she heard Gustav and Tom play the opening lines of "Monsoon". Seconds later, the entire stadium went silent as Bill started to sing.

* * *

TOM

Tom could barely restrain a smile as he watched Bill get into the song. Monsoon was one of their favorites to perform, mainly because it was one of the most well-known, which meant Bill could let the audience sing more often than in their less-well-known songs. Either way, Bill looked like he was having _way_ too much fun as he bounced around the stage, singing his heart out.

_Running through the monsoon_

_Beyond the world_

_To the end of time_

_Fighting the storm_

_Into the blue and_

_And when I lose myself_

_Think of you!_

_Through the monsoon_

_Just me and you._

His fingers flew up and down the guitar's neck, his body moving almost instinctively against it. As he did, he heard some crazy fangirl start screaming in the audience. In response, he started doing it more, causing even more screaming. Had he not been mostly focused on his playing, he would have been rolling on the ground laughing. Fangirls were so easy to tease. As the song continued, rising towards his favorite part, the girls in the crowd grew quieter as they sang along. Pretty soon, what seemed like the entire audience was singing with Bill.

* * *

RACHEL

Rachel shivered as the noise surrounding her swelled. One would think when the screaming stopped, it would get easier to deal with, but no, it almost seemed to get worse. Pretty much every person in the audience was singing and added to Bill's magnified voice, the drumming, and the bass and guitar blaring through speakers only a few feet from her head, the noise was weighing on her, pushing her shoulders down as her body shrank in on itself. Her hands rose to cover her ears again, trying to protect herself.

Not that she expected that to work.

As she struggled with her fears, "Monsoon" ended and another song started. Rachel didn't even recognize what the music was at this point, wishing only that it would stop. She couldn't hear her own voice yelling out for help, and no one around her spared her a second glance. She felt like her world was about to explode, that she was about to shatter into a million pieces………………………………………………………………………………………………..

TOM

The music was in him, flowing through his blood. His hands flew across the guitar strings and his body bounced with the beat. Tom never felt this alive outside of concerts. His blood sang as he played; the sweat pouring off him was unimportant, as was the slight cramping he felt in his wrist. All of it was beside the point: the only thing that mattered was the music.

Their second song ended, and the screaming started up again. Bill raised one hand to the audience, and they quieted down just enough so that he wouldn't have to shout over them.

Bill moved forward to shake hands with some of the fans at the front, saying as he did, "You all have no idea how much this means to us! You're all here, just for us! Thank you all!"

Screams shot up to almost supersonic as hundreds of girls began chanting again. Tom shook his head slightly, amused. This was what he and the others loved about their work: the love the fans showed them at concerts. It was amazing.

* * *

RACHEL

Bill was speaking, she knew that. She just didn't know what he was saying or if it even mattered. After he was done, the noise started again, a solid wall of sound that made her knees want to give way and her mind to shut down.

"I can't do this!" she screamed, her voice raw from screaming already. "I can't take it!" One hand fell from her ears to grip the edge of the stage, praying that it would do something to help………………………………………………………………………………………………….

TOM

As Bill continued to talk to the fans, Tom stepped up next to him, fiddling with his lip ring as he did. Several of the fans swooned as he came closer, and he nearly burst out laughing. Bill gave him as sour glance as he stopped.

"Aw, don't look at me like that. I just want to have my chance to say hi to all the pretty girls out there!" He called that last bit into the mike. Screams and several hundred swoons came back. He couldn't hold back his chuckle then, letting it out as he reached to trade handclasps with a handful of fans in front of him.

It was then that he noticed the anomaly.

A single hand wasn't reaching out, up, or in any other direction. Long, pale fingers gripped the edge of the stage so hard the knuckles were turning white. His gaze tried to follow the arm back to its owner, but the crowd of fangirls kept him from doing so. Curious as to whom the hand belonged to, he began to move over that way. As he did, the crowd split slightly around the mystery person, and he got a brief glimpse of her.

Long black hair framing a face paler than Bill's. Slim shoulders hunched around a face whose eyes were closed and whose mouth was open in a silent scream. Finally he stood right in front of her. He bent down to talk to her, but the noise around them was too loud. All he could do was stare, but as he stood there, the others began to press in. He saw the girl's face tighten more, the corners of her eyes trembling. The others pressing in probably wasn't helping, but when they started shouting his name, he saw her already pale face take on an unhealthy grey pallor. Her hand left the stage, started to rise to her ear. It never made it.

Tom watched, helplessly, as the dark-haired girl's eyes snapped open and stared sightlessly up past him, dark grey eyes that held nothing but terror. He caught the barest hint of a desperate scream then her eyes rolled back and she slid silently down the stage to the ground. He waited for a moment, but she didn't reappear. She was trapped, helpless, in the center of a mosh pit. He thought for all of about two seconds before coming to a decision. He stood, pulled his guitar off and stepped back to hand it to Bill, who was staring at him like he'd grown another head.

"What the hell are you doing, Tom?" he yelled over the noise of the audience. Tom didn't answer, just went back to where she'd gone down. He took a deep breath, saw one of the bodyguards come running, and jumped off the stage into the sea of fans.

**AN: wOOt!!!!!!!! Chappy four done, finally!!!!!!!!! Sorry to make y'all wait, I was hit with sucky writer's block for this one… but it's done now, so yay!!!!!! So, rachel's down for the count, tom's being an impulsive idiot, bill's wondering when tom went nuts, georg and gustav have no idea what's going on, and a bodyguard is rushing over to help…. Oh, boy, is chappy five gonna be fun to write!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!! Ok, I'm done… bye-bye!!!!**

**TwinSwords out! l8rz!!!!!!!!!!**


	5. I've Seen You Before

**AN: harro!!!!!!!!!! I'm back, again!!!!!!! ahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I know, I'm nuts…. What else is new?) anyway, I thought I should mention this, but since I **_**am**_** still stuck in school, (pbbbbbbbbbbt [raspberry]) with two, count them, TWO ap classes, I may not be able to update as often as I would like… meaning that I'll be writing as much as I can between HW stuffs and other stuffs… but I'll still work on this, just… yeah, I'm rambling now, so I'm gonna shut up and get on with the disclaimer… AND teh story.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL OR ANYTHING ELSE IN HERE THAT CAN BE FOUND IN REAL LIFE!!!!!!!! I DO OWN RACHEL, REBECCA AD LAUREN SUMMERS!!!!!!!! IF I FIND THEM IN SOMEONE ELSE'S STORY YOU WILL BE IN ****HUGE**** TROUBLE!!!!!!!!**

Previously: _He took a deep breath, saw one of the bodyguards come running, and jumped off the stage into the sea of fans._

* * *

TOM

Tom landed hard on the ground a couple feet away from the unconscious girl. Two seconds after he was off the stage, he was attacked by no less than twenty fangirls, but he ignored them, shoving his way over to the spot he'd last seen the black-haired girl disappear. Two feet seemed like a thousand miles due to the simply ridiculous number of idiotic girls that seemed to have lost their brains somewhere between the door and the stage.

"Come on, get out of my way," he snarled under his breath, concern for the girl making him lose whatever decency he had. He fought his way over to where she lay crumpled against the stage, her long jet-black hair falling around her almost like a blanket. As he studied her, he suddenly realized she reminded him of someone. Before he could figure it out, however, he heard one of the bodyguards yelling at him from the stage.

"Tom, what the hell do you think you're doing, you impulsive idiot?!" Tom grinned tightly when he heard this and didn't even bother to try and be heard above the din around him. Instead, he simply bent down and lifted the girl into his arms. Standing carefully, hoping to avoid unbalancing and falling on his face in front of dozens of people- fans, no less- Tom took the time to see which guard had come over. '_Surprise, surprise._' It was Daniel, who was not only a guard but also a good friend of the bands'. Unfortunately, he didn't look so friendly right now, but hopefully he would save the inevitable tongue-lashing for later; Tom had more important things to worry about right now. Like the fact that he had _no idea _how to get back on the stage without hurting her or embarrassing himself. Eventually, he gave up on thinking about it and laid her gently on the stage, hoisting himself up after her, after which he just stared at her, suddenly having a massive epiphany. The girl from his dream. '_Holy hell, she looks just like her!_' he thought, shocked, not realizing that he wasn't even beginning to pay attention to the lecture he was getting from Daniel. After a moment he remembered, and attempted to tune in, but it took him a couple seconds.

"…thinking? A million things could have happened! You need to think this stuff through, Tom, seriously."

Tom rolled his eyes interrupting the older man's monologue. "Yeah, fine, whatever, but we have more important things to worry about right now, Dan."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that we now have-" Tom swiftly bent down and lifted the girl into his arms again, feeling the rightness of it, "someone that I think needs medical attention." Daniel's face went from purple to nearly white so fast it would have been hilarious in any other situation, but, odd as it was, Tom didn't feel like laughing at it. Daniel nearly snatched the girl out of Tom's arms and began to turn towards backstage. Before he'd gone two steps, however, he turned back to Tom, a question in his eyes. "Where do you-"

"Backstage," Tom answered before he'd finished. For some weird reason, he wanted to get to know this girl better, and not in the pervy sense either. Odd. "Keep an eye on her until we're done here. I'll check on her when we head back." Daniel nodded, disappearing backstage almost before Tom could blink.

Seconds after that, Tom felt something land on his shoulder and turned to see Bill giving him an odd look. "Don't look at me like that, baby brother; we've still got work to do."

"I'm not your baby brother, and you're the one who interrupted."

"No one else would have noticed or cared, and I wasn't about to let her get crushed because of us. And yes, you are. I'm ten minutes older."

Bill oh-so-maturely stuck his tongue out at Tom and thrust his guitar into his hands. "If you've _quite_ finished, we have a show to play." Tom winced at his brother's suddenly icy tone and hoped he wouldn't still be mad when they went backstage and found out she was there… he hoped………………………………………………………………………………………………

AFTER FIRST HALF OF CONCERT, BACKSTAGE

"What the hell?" was Bill's first comment when he went into his dressing room to find the girl Tom had rescued asleep on one of the couches. Tom sighed. He should have known this would happen.

"I wanted to talk to her."

"You couldn't have waited and found her after?"

"Wasn't sure if she'd still be here."

"So?"

"What's with you? You're not usually this… insensitive."

Bill sighed. "You had better just want to talk, Tom. We don't have time for anything else."

"Is that really the first thing you all think when I say I want to talk to a girl?" He glanced over at Gustav and Georg, both of whom looked like they wanted to be left out of this. "Is it?" Gustav put his hands up in an "I'm-not-going-to-take-sides" gesture. Georg just nodded.

"Pretty much. And before you throw something at me, it's 'cause you rarely do just want to talk to girls."

"Thanks for the support, Georg," Tom grumbled dryly. Georg shrugged and hauled Gustav off to the outside room, giving the twins breathing room. And to avoid being dragged into taking sides in what was _not_ a good argument to take sides in. Ignoring their hasty retreat, Tom looked back at Bill. "I really do just want to talk to her, Bill."

"Why?" Bill wanted to know.

Tom hesitated for a moment, not sure if Bill really wanted to know the whole reason. After a moment, he decided it would be best to be honest: Bill would be hurt if he wasn't, and he hated seeing Bill hurt.

"I'm not really sure," he answered, stepping around Bill to study the girl. "All I can say is that having her here feels right." He didn't look back at Bill, not wanting to see his brother's skeptical expression. There was silence for a moment, then his twin's hand landed on his shoulder.

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"For being an ass about this," Bill answered softly.

"You weren't an ass. _Georg_ was an ass."

"Nah, Georg was just being Georg. I didn't try to understand why you did that. I was just annoyed."

"And?"

"I was an ass about it. About you… and her… by the way, how exactly did you see her? And what made you… do that?"

"Random topic change," Tom responded, switching over to German because it would be easier to explain himself in his first language.

"Just tell me, Tom." Bill copied him, as he usually ended up doing.

Tom sighed again and explained, "I saw her hand holding on to the stage, and her knuckles were literally turning white. I went over to see what was wrong and… she looked like she was screaming, Bill." He had to stop there for a moment, seeing the girl's pain and fear as clearly in his mind's eye as he had an hour ago onstage. "I was going to talk to her, but I couldn't, 'cause everyone around her was yelling too loud. She looked past me, but I don't think she was seeing anything. Her eyes, little brother…" for once, Bill didn't respond to the "little brother" bit, being entirely too focused on Tom's story to care. "She was terrified. I have no idea of what, but I hadn't seen anyone look that scared since Georg made you watch that _Saw_ movie." Bill's eye twitched slightly at the reminder, but otherwise ignored the reference.

"Huh… There's more to all of this, though, isn't there?"

Tom blinked, tried to hide his surprise. "Yes. But… I don't want to talk about it yet. Later, ok?" Bill looked slightly hurt, and Tom almost changed his mind. Almost, but the thought of how nuts he would look kept him from doing so. "I promise, I'll tell you once I've got everything figured out myself. I'm still… confused… right now." The hurt look went away and Bill nodded. Tom breathed a silent sigh of relief and went to sit down on the edge of the couch next to the girl as Bill moved over to lean against the wall.

They spent the next few minutes talking about anything they could think of, trying to keep somewhat quiet in case the girl was sleeping naturally and not still passed out. Of course, this meant they weren't completely paying attention to her, not noticing when her eyelids fluttered briefly. They did, however, realize she was awake when she made a sound halfway between a gasp and a shriek and shot bolt upright on the couch, knocking Tom off. She stared at the two of them, her dark eyes shining with unshed tears. Tom, after heaving himself back onto the couch, glanced over at Bill, well aware of his twin's dislike for tears of any kind. She made a small noise; he turned back in time to see a single tear dropped from her eyes, which were still wide with shock and the remnants of the fear. Bill looked back at Tom and said in German, "I'm out. You deal with tears better than I do." With that, he bolted out the door, completely ignoring Tom's yelp.

"Wait! Bill, don't leave me!" The door snapped shut behind him, and Tom slowly turned back to the girl, who was still just watching him, tears still dripping uncontrollably from her eyes. He sighed, startled to find that he couldn't stand watching her cry when he could do something to comfort her. He carefully reached out and pulled her against his chest. She stiffened, and he almost let go; but then her delicate, strong hands grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and she started sobbing.

Tom felt himself go tense as she started shaking, a million thoughts firing around his brain, mainly consisting of, '_Oh, __gott__, she's crying, whaddo I do, whaddo I do?_' among other things. Almost of their own accord, his arms rose to encircle her shoulders, pulling her against him. Her crying got worse. '_Oh, shit… oh, shit… oh, shit… What am I doing wrong?! Ah! Umumumum… what do I do? She's still crying, oh shit!_' His thoughts bounced around like a ping pong ball as she continued to cling to and sob into his chest. Eventually, though, he remembered the times when he'd woken from nightmares when he was little. He'd thrash around, wake Bill up, and cry. Well, more like wail. …Either way, either his mother or stepfather would come in and, after peeling Bill off him, hold him. His mom would mutter comforting nonsense to him, and eventually he would calm down and get back to nightmare-less sleep. He figured he might as well give that a try. Maybe it would work.

"Hey, it's ok, there's nothing to be afraid of here. You're ok, you're safe, I won't let anything hurt you." Okay, that last part hadn't been meant to come out, but… ah, hell, it seemed to be working. Her sobs were quieter now, and she didn't seem to be shaking as badly. He continued to talk to her, glad that she didn't understand what he was saying. He had a reputation to maintain: and it didn't involve letting girls cry and him actually to something to comfort them.

* * *

BILL

Bill carefully pushed the door to his dressing room open. He had been starting to get concerned when he didn't hear any noise coming from in there for the past few minutes. Knowing Tom, the silence could mean a lot of things. So he peeked in to check on them.

Whatever he'd been looking for, it hadn't been the black-haired girl crying against Tom's chest, and Tom, the playboy of playboys, whispering into her ear and holding her. Just holding her, nothing else. Bill blinked a couple times then shut the door as quietly as he'd opened it. He leaned against it for a moment, thinking. '_Maybe I was imagining things. Tom's never done that._' He straightened up, heading for where he could hear Georg and Gustav playing foosball in the next room. '_I'll have one of them check, make sure I wasn't seeing things._'

"Hey, Gustav?" The shortest member of their band glanced suspiciously over at him, allowing Georg to score a sneak shot. Bill laughed softly as Gustav started berating Georg but didn't let it go on for long. "Gustav? I need help with something."

"…cheating is a bad thing, Georg."

"So?"

"GUSTAV!"

"Ack! _What_ Bill?"

"I need you guys's help with something."

"Uh, oh. That doesn't sound good. What do you need?"

Bill sighed at his friend's mistrust, but briefly outlined what he'd seen in the dressing room. "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't hallucinating."

Georg, of course, just laughed at him and agreed outright. Gustav paused to think for a moment, but eventually agreed. Bill let the G's back to the door and cracked it open again. The two older boys stuck their heads in, and Georg nearly fell over from trying not to laugh.

Fortunately, Gustav pulled him away before he could and said to Bill, "No, you're not hallucinating, strange as it seems."

Georg, of course, felt the need to add in. "Yeah, he's not being a perv for once."

"Oh, come on, he's not always a pervert."

"He is when it comes to girls and you damn well know it."

"Not with her, he isn't," Gustav interjected before they could start yelling at each other and thoroughly embarrass themselves and Tom. At that, though, Georg and Bill both turned back to the still-open door and continued spying, obviously wondering how long it would be before Tom turned back into the perverted playa they all knew……………………………………

**AN: I'm gonna end it there, cause I have no clue how to actually end this… yeah… just this chappy though, don't worry… chappy 6 is gonna be fun, I finally get to write Rachel again, yay… Anywho, I gotta go before the 'rents get home, I'm actually s'posed to be banned from this computer, yeah, see how well that worked out… ^__^ **

**TwinSwords signing off, seeya soon!!!!!!!**

**Btw, pleasepleasepleaseplease PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	6. Oh, Crap! Moments

**AN: 'ello!!!!!!!! I'm back again, yay!!! Ok, so I kinda ran out of steam at the end of last chapter, so here's hoping that doesn't happen again anytime soon… ^__^ By the way, the beginning of this chapter happens at the same time as the ending of the last one, to keep all y'all from being confuzzled…. I'm so nice ^__^ (and all my friends are going "yeah, right. Nice, you?" anywhoodles, I'm gonna shaddup now and get on with the stuff I know y'all want.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT'S REAL IN HERE. I DO, AS Y'ALL KNOW BY NOW, OWN THE SUMMERS FAMILY. Y'ALL KNOW WHAT'LL HAPPEN IF THEY END UP STOLEN, SO NO STEALING!!!**

**AN: oh, yeah, and this chappy's gonna be a bit more drama filled than the last ones, so prepare yourselves!!!!!!! And another thing, there is German in here, but I'm too lazy to find a dictionary… and I don't speak it at all… so if anyone knows a good English to German translator (online, free, preferably) I will be eternally grateful!!!!!!!!! (the only words that are actually in German are the ones that my dad remembered from his vacations there… yeah, fail, right?**

Previously: _At that, though, Georg and Bill both turned back to the still-open door and continued spying, obviously wondering how long it would be before Tom turned back into the perverted playa they all knew._

* * *

RACHEL, DREAMSCAPE

_Rachel stood at the bottom of a long, grassy hill. A clear night sky hung over her head, the stars glowing, the full moon bright enough to see even the little details around her. She tilted her head back, allowing the calmness of the scene wash over her and get rid of the lingering traces of panic. A light breeze blew her hair around her face; she laughed softly, purely for the joy of it, and brushed it back. The breeze slowly died, and, as it faded, she heard a slight noise from behind her._

_ She turned quickly, tension rising in her again, tension that disappeared as she recognized the boy from her other dream. The one that always saved her. She could barely make out details of him, for some reason. The air around him seemed fuzzy, unlike the clear, fogless air around her. Rachel smiled and raised a hand in greeting. She almost heard the boy laughing softly. In most cases, she would've yelled at him to stop laughing, but she liked his laugh to much to tell him off. Eventually, though, he stopped of his own accord, and she heard a voice in her mind, curiously unaccented and emotionless, but that could only be his._

_ "You shouldn't be here now."_

_ Her body went cold. '_Why not?_' _

_ One corner of his mouth turned up in a smile. She caught a glimpse of a lip ring as he spoke again. "It isn't time yet. Wake up now, love. I'll see you here again soon."_

_ She felt herself falling, and could only whisper thanks to the boy that had saved her so many times, and was no doubt saving her now……………………………………………………………_

STILL RACHEL, BUT A FEW MINUTES LATER (**AN: I know, obvious, but still… bye!)**

Rachel's eyelids twitched as she finally made it back to the land of the living, but other than that, didn't move. She continued breathing in a slow, easy pattern to keep anyone nearby under the assumption that she was still out of it while she tried to figure out where the hell she was.

The last thing she remembered was seeing the dark ceiling above her, hands in front of her face, and someone leaning towards her. She also remembered the noise: screams, bad singing, Bill Kaulitz's voice shouting through a speaker by her head.

Wait… wasn't that still Bill's voice? Only, now he wasn't singing or shouting. He was practically whispering. And there was another voice. Deeper, but similar, and with the same strong German accent. Her eyes flew open… to see that she was lying on a couch, Tom Kaulitz was sitting by her feet in a position that could _not_ have been comfortable, and Bill was leaning against the wall. Even as her mind filtered this information, her body entered the last stage of panic attacks: the adrenaline was leaving her system as quickly as it had filled it, leaving her weepy and exhausted. Suddenly afraid beyond belief and hoping this was a dream, Rachel jackknifed to a sitting position, subconsciously letting out a sound that was half a gasp and half a sob. Her feet smacked into Tom on their way up, and he slid off the couch to the floor with a _thump_. In other circumstances, she would have laughed. Now, however, she was more concerned with the tears she could feel pooling in her eyes.

Tom hauled himself back onto the couch with a grunt, sparing a brief glance for his brother. She caught Bill murmuring something to the effect of, "I'm leaving, you deal with crying better than me." Before she could catch herself, she made the tiniest whimpering noise, leftover from her fear from earlier. Tom turned back to her, just as a single tear dropped from her eyes. Petrified and embarrassed more than she ever had been, she simply stared at him as others began to follow the first. Bill bolted from the room, and Tom yelped after him, "Wait! Bill, don't leave me!" Rachel tried to raise a hand to her face, to hide the tears, but her hands didn't seem to want to cooperate today. Tom slowly turned back to her, his face a mix of fear and pity. She watched his powerful shoulders rise and fall as he heaved as sigh, thoroughly humiliated that he was seeing her this way.

So it was a massive surprise when he reached out a pulled her against his chest, as though he wanted her to think it was okay to show tears. She tensed at first, out of sheer surprise, but then, as his arms tightened around her, she relaxed. Of their own accord, her hands rose to grip his loose-fitting shirt, clenching so hard to the fabric that she thought there would be permanent wrinkles. Her face buried into his chest and the sobs came freely. Her entire frame shook with the force of them, amazing her.

Then again, maybe it shouldn't be such a shock. After all, she'd suffered eleven years of panic attacks and no one had ever tried to comfort her before.

As she cried, she felt him go tense for a brief period, but eventually he relaxed a bit as well. After a few minutes, she felt his arms leave her waist, and feared that he was through with the comfort stuff, and she started to pull away. But then his arms wrapped around her shoulders, and he pulled her back, his head lowering to her shoulder.

They stayed that way for a while; Rachel lost track of how long. Her sobs continued to come through her body uncontrollably, although they were mainly from embarrassment now; embarrassment and shame. But then, she heard Tom mutter something in German under his breath. She took a deep breath, hoping her tears were done; another sob shook her body. Seconds later, she heard Tom's voice again, this time whispering in her ear. In German. She was rather glad she'd allowed her obsessiveness to push her in to taking German in school; otherwise, she might have thought he was cursing her out. Instead, she realized he was trying to help her, odd as that was, coming from the one known as the perv of all pervs.

"Hey, it's ok, there's nothing to be afraid of here. You're ok, you're safe, I won't let anything hurt you." Had she imagined that last line? As his voice continued to sound in her ears, she let herself imagine that he had said it, and meant it. This dream, as well as his soothing voice, slowed her sobs and dried her tears. Moments later, she was just leaning against him, allowing his arms to hold her there, her mind as dry as her eyes. However, she should have known that kind of peace couldn't last.

A loud crash sounded through the room as two guys fell through the door, ending up in a laughing pile just inside the room. Rachel barley bit back a scream and launched herself backwards towards the other end of the couch. Unfortunately, she misjudged the distance and ended up falling over the arm, landing in an undignified pile on the floor. In a rush, she scampered behind the couch, hoping to avoid awkward questions from the boys, who no doubt were the other members of the band. This was the kind of attention she really didn't need.

As she huddled in the moderate protection the couch provided, she heard Tom and another voice berating the crash-landing pair in German.

"Come on, guys. Way to scare few years off our lives!" Tom growled, clearly not as amused as the others. The other voice added in, also in a not-so-amused tone, "Really? Have we forgotten our ages again, so soon?" This Tom was amused by; Rachel heard his soft snort of laughter. She peeked around the back of the couch, watching with interest.

A young man with short blonde hair and brown eyes- Gustav- was giving the two on the

Floor, who she assumed to be Bill and Georg. Her suspicions were proven correct as Gustav continued. "Georg, you're twenty years old, you should know better than to eavesdrop at an open door with Bill behind you."

"Hey!" Bill yelled from the floor, annoyed. "It wasn't my fault I tripped!"

"And you are eighteen. Act your age for once and leave these two alone for a moment!"

"They've been alone!"

Tom interjected with an irritated look, "If you two were eavesdropping I'm assuming we weren't actually alone."

"Were too! We weren't in the room!" Tom whacked him upside the head. "OW!"

"Look," he muttered, his voice dropping so low Rachel had to strain to hear it, "leave us be, for her." Rachel pulled her head back behind the couch as three pairs of unfamiliar eyes flashed towards where she was hiding. She heard several sighs, assumed they were from the other three. Another few words were tossed around then the door snapped shut again. Believing Tom had left with the others, Rachel slowly raised her head above the couch, only to shriek in surprise when Tom appeared in front of her, his hand held out.

"Come on," he said in accented English. "The floor can't be comfortable." She shook her head, her eyes falling back to the ground. She heard a soft noise, and peeked up through her bangs. Tom had knelt down in front of her, his expression concerned. "Or we can sit back here, if you want."

She nodded once, keeping her head down. She heard him settle down on the floor, no doubt still across from her, and stayed quiet for a minute. Of course, Tom had never been known for being particularly patient, so he eventually broke the silence first.

"What's your name?"

She stayed quiet for a moment, weighing the merits of telling him against those of not saying anything. "Rachel," she answered after a time, her voice almost inaudible.

Tom tilted his head slightly, his large brown eyes focused on her face. "Rachel?" She glanced up at him, still through her bangs. "Will you look at me?" Her entire body went stiff, but she slowly raised her head and met his eyes. He smiled, and she couldn't help but notice how his eyes lit up when he did. "There. That's better, isn't it?" She shrugged; he watched her in silence. She wondered what was going on behind his smiling eyes. "You don't talk much, do you?"

"Not usually." Her voice came out quiet again. Inwardly, she cursed her cowardice. Here she was with the one person she'd always wanted to meet, to compliment, and she could barely remember how her voice box worked. Then again, all the times she'd allowed herself to imagine this moment, she hadn't pictured it happening like this.

She looked back at him, noting his suddenly contemplative expression. It looked odd on him, somehow. Most times she'd seen him, he was either arguing with Bill, laughing at something inconsequential, smiling at a camera, or being weird at interviews. She'd never seen him look thoughtful, like he did now. "I see." He paused, and she could almost hear the gears whirling in his head as he thought. "If you don't mind me asking… What was that out there? I mean, why'd you… fall like that? And then after? I'm thinking that's not normal for you."

"It's not… it was a panic attack. Sometimes I get them in places where I feel stuck, or helpless… trapped…" her voice trailed off as her face flushed with a mix of embarrassment at talking so much and the remnants of fear from the attack. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. Something large and warm landed on her knee, bringing an odd sense of comfort with it. Rachel spared a glance for it, amazed to see that it was Tom's hand. She raised her head again, forcing the corners of her mouth up into the semblance of a smile, laying her hand over his. "_Danke_, Tom. _Danke__shcön_."

Tom blinked a couple times, and she swore she could see a light bulb turn on over his head. "You… speak German?" he asked, shock and embarrassment vying for top spot in his expression.

"_Ja_. Took three years of it in school. Nearly fluent." He whistled softly.

"Nearly fluent after only three years? Impressive."

"Not really."

"What're you talking about? That's really… what's the word?" Tom paused, then grinned impishly. "Astounding! That's the word!"

"It's not. I bet a lot of people could do that."

"No, they couldn't."

"Yes, they-"

"Nope. And stop that."

"_Was_?"

"Lying to yourself."

"But I'm not. And why would you even care if I was?"

"Look… I don't really know, myself… all I know is that it feels right to have you here… and that sounds completely nuts, I know, but it's true!"

Rachel stared at him, wondering if she'd heard right. "Feel right? It feels right to have me, the one no one ever wanted-" Her hand flew to her traitor mouth as the implications of what she'd just set sank in.

What would he think, now? Would he not want her anymore? Of course he wouldn't. No one did… not even her father, who'd always told her he loved her…………………………………………………………………………………………………

TOM

'_Wait, what'd she mean, the one no one ever wanted?_' Tom wondered as the hand Rachel had put over his flew to her mouth, her eyes falling to the floor again.

"What do you mean? 'No one ever wanted you'?" Surely someone must have cared for her at some point. But, as he watched her shoulders rise and fall with her breathing, he had a sudden though. Maybe no one _had_ cared. Maybe… he shook his head firmly. No. That could not be possible. Someone as perfect and pure and innocent as Rachel could not have suffered through being unloved.

He hoped.

His hand lightly squeezed her knee and her eyes slowly rose to meet his. "It doesn't matter. Forget I said anything."

He closed his eyes, fighting pity for the despair in her voice. She _had_ lived through that. The one thing that would make _his_ life unlivable, and she had survived it. Somehow, she had found the strength to push through that existence and found a way to live. "That's how you came to know the band, wasn't it?"

Her head bobbed once in a nod even as she squeezed her eyes shut. Not before he caught a glimpse of the pain, shame, helplessness, and fear in them, however. All negative emotions, all vying for top position in such a beautiful, innocent person. He felt his heart start pounding, felt the sudden, strange urge to cry for her. She didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve it, but had lived through it anyway. Tom couldn't help but admire her for that strength. He wasn't sure he'd ever have it. He met her gaze as her eyes opened again, trying to put everything he felt into that brief meeting.

"Don't look at me like that," she said softly, so softly he could barely hear it, even though he was sitting less than two feet away. "It just makes things worse." Immediately, he turned his eyes towards the couch behind her, not on her face.

"Why, though? Why did that happen?"

Her shoulders curved in on themselves, her head beginning to fall towards her chest. "Don't ask. You don't," she paused to take a deep breath, "you don't want to know."

"Yes, I do. You shouldn't-"

"Tom?" Tom groaned under his breath, cutting it off before Bill could here it. His twin seriously had the worst timing ever. "We're going on again in a little over five. Thought you might want to know so we can all get ready." Rachel's head flew to the door, a guilty expression taking over for the others for a brief moment.

"All right, I'll be right there," he yelled back through the door, pushing himself to his feet. Once there, he held his hand out to Rachel again, hoping she would accept this time. After a long, tense moment (at least for him), she gripped his hand and allowed him to pull her up. Without letting go, he tugged her back over to the couch and gently pushed her down onto it. He then put one hand on her shoulder, the other under her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Stay here and rest for now, not sure it's a great idea for you to go back out there so soon. But do you want us to find whoever you came here with?" She shook her head fiercely.

"She'll find out on her own eventually. She'll come," she whispered.

O-kay, then. That was weird. But, whatever. She needed quiet. "Still, just rest here. I'll see you when we're done, okay?" At her nod, he started to turn towards the door but on a sudden impulse. Tom slowly turned back, taking one of her hands in his. Bowing gallantly over it, he lightly kissed the back of her hand, causing her to blush and let out a little feminine gasp. He smirked and grinned at the same time, giving her a wink, pretending that the sudden heat flushing through his face and body was imaginary. "I'll see you later, then. Bye!" Ignoring her bright red face, he turned and headed back to the main room, wondering what these feelings were. Maybe Bill would know. He always was the more mature one when it came to girls and relationships.

Yeah, he'd ask Bill. Bill would know what to do.

**AN: yay, chappy six done!!!!!!!!! Woo!!!!!!!!!!! And it was a bit longer, I'm so proud of myself!!!!!!!!!! Ok, now that I'm done being a spaz… yeah, sorry about the drama, but it had to be done!!!!!!!!!! And I'm tired, so I'm gonna shut up and go to bed before I crash here at the computer…**

**Reviews, please, and constructive criticism is always welcome!**

**This is TwinSwords saying goodnight!**


	7. I'm Confused

**AN: 'allo again, minna-san!!!!!!!!! (minna-san = everybody) back on track with chappy seven, omigod, that's so awesome for me, since I usually run out of steam by chappy three… woooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry, I had sugar today… ^__^) oh, ****ja****, btw, this chapter is slight Rachel-angst, just so y'all know… I'M SORRY, I HAD TO DO IT, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! anyway, I'm gonna stop being weird and get on to the story I know you're all anxious for, right?**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL (much as I would like to for all of a day) OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT EXISTS IN REAL LIFE!!!!!!! AND I'M NOT EVEN GONNA BOTHER TO TELL YOU PEOPLE NOT TO STEAL MY OC'S, COZ Y'ALL SHOULD KNOW THAT'S A BAD IDEA BY NOW.**

Previously: _Maybe Bill would know. He always was the more mature one when it came to girls and relationships._

_ Yeah, he'd ask Bill. Bill would know what to do._

* * *

TOM

Tom let the door snap shut behind him, trying to forget the way she'd looked at him as he'd turned back. Surprised, confused, absolutely adorable and sexy without even realizing it. How on earth had he lucked out and found someone like Rachel? He though of how her fine black hair framed her face and how pale her skin was. She was paler than Bill, and he almost never went outside. Unless he had to, of course. Tom shook his head, forcing himself to stay on track. Rachel. What had she been about to say?

"_Feel right? It feels right to have me, the one no one ever wanted-_" she'd said. He leaned back against the door, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to picture the expression she'd had when she'd said that. After a moment, it came to him. It had been a mixture of sadness, loneliness, and a million other things that he was hard-pressed to name. He sighed, wondering what it was in her history that had given her such a look. Slowly, he opened his eyes again, just in time to see Georg about to pounce on him.

"What the hell, Georg?"

"Just trying to get your attention," the bassist replied with an impish grin. Tom shook his head at him and went to find Bill, who was checking his hair for what Gustav said was about the fiftieth time.

"Bill!" Tom called into the bathroom.

"_Was_?"

"You were the one yelling at me to hurry up, so come on!" He heard Bill mumble something about annoying twins and snickered. "Annoying I may be, but I'll keep us on time. For the most part." This time it was Bill's turn to laugh. "Quit laughing and come on." Finally Bill emerged from the bathroom looking exactly as he had when they first went on. "You're as bad as a girl."

"Yeah, but at least I look nice."

Tom studied his brother. Black hair stuck out in his porcupine imitation, red shirt with some kind of sparkly design on it, black jeans, combat boots. "_Ja_, you look good. There. Ego stroked. Can we go now?" Bill sighed and started to give Tom the sad face treatment, which usually ended with Tom doing whatever it was Bill was asking for. But it wasn't going to work this time, mainly because Tom turned and started walking quickly towards the hallway door. He heard Bill laugh again and run lightly to his side.

They walked in silence for a little while, but Tom was waiting for Bill to start with the questions. He didn't have to wait long. "So."

"Let me guess. What were we doing, did we just talk, and about a million other questions." Bill grinned at him sheepishly and nodded. "Sat behind the couch and talked, yes, just talked, and no I didn't do anything." Bill nodded, satisfied. Tom thought for a moment, then went out on a limb, deciding to ask Bill's advice about Rachel now, instead of later. "Hey, Bill?"

"_Was_, Tom?"

"I had a question."

"OK."

Tom took a deep breath, let it out in a whoosh, and filled his brother in on all the stuff that had happened in the dressing room, what they'd talked about, the brief mention of her past, and her refusal to talk about it. "…and now, I think I'm interested, and not the way I'm usually interested in girls. I get that warm, fuzzy feeling you're always rambling about." He stopped before Bill started going on about the "love at first sight" nonsense he usually would when Tom thought he liked a girl. "Anyway, I want to get to know her better, but… I don't think she'd appreciate me asking her number, 'cause she might not even have one."

Bill looked thoughtful for a moment then told Tom, "I have an idea." He had the look on his face that said he was planning on being a butt and not telling.

"Tell me," Tom practically ordered. Bill, of course, just smiled.

"Nope."

"_Bitte_, Bill. Tell." Tom rarely said "please" when dealing with Bill, so he hoped that saying it would make him spill faster.

"Well, since you said 'please'," Bill grumbled. '_Yes, it worked_!' "Ok, here's my idea: you give her your number, and let her know you'll be in town for a little bit longer. That way, if she wants to see you again, she'll know she can. And she has a way of contacting you." Tom thought about this for a minute, deciding this plan made sense. He smiled and hugged his twin around his thin shoulders, causing Bill to look at him oddly, and Georg, who apparently had snuck up on them at some point, to burst out laughing and make some comment that Tom chose not to hear.

"Bill. You are a genius. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Cause I'm the genius."

"I come up with better jokes."

"Practical jokes do not count as genius."

Georg and Tom both glared at him, insulted. "Yes, they do!" they retorted at the same time. Bill only stared at them.

"Ok, now I see what you mean by the creepy at-the-same-time thing." Tom and Georg rolled their eyes, sighed, and ran ahead, Tom calling a last, "_Danke__schön_!" Georg suddenly grinned his "I'm planning something" grin and stopped suddenly. Tom, who hadn't been paying attention, kept going full speed. Georg stuck his foot out as Tom passed him, sending the dreadlocked young man sprawling.

"HEY!" Tom yelled as Georg sprinted past him. "THAT WAS CHEATING!" All he heard was Georg's ridiculous laugher echoing back down the hallway as Bill came up and stopped by him.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Nope."

"OK, then. Not gonna ask."

Tom smirked at his twin as the headed out towards the stage, but his mind was already wandering back to the dressing room, where he hoped a certain girl was still waiting.

* * *

RACHEL

Rachel sat on the couch in shock for a few minutes after Tom walked out. She closed her eyes, listening to the noise of them getting ready to go back on stage. Bill and Tom were apparently having some kind of argument, but she didn't catch what it was. A few more minutes of noise from the other room, then blessed silence.

She thought briefly on those last couple seconds with Tom, before Bill had interrupted. Was there any chance she could tell him? No. He would walk off, just like everyone else in her life did. She couldn't trust anyone, not anymore. Any time she'd trusted someone, they'd betrayed her.

……………………………………………*_MEMORY*_…………………………………………

_Ten-year-old Rachel plopped down at the kitchen table, waiting for her daddy to come in and give her breakfast, like he always had. Long minutes passed, and Daddy didn't come in. Rachel hopped down from the chair and went in search of him. She peeked into the living room, thinking that maybe he was reading the newspaper. _

_ He wasn't there._

_ She tried her mom's room next. Maybe he hadn't woken up yet._

_ He wasn't there._

_ She looked into her own room; maybe he was playing._

_ He wasn't there, either._

_ Finally, she came back to the kitchen, suddenly feeling terrified. Daddy had to be here somewhere. He couldn't have just vanished into thin air, like people did in stories. Daddy was real, he wasn't in a story. Why wasn't he here? That was when she saw the letter on the table. It was on a piece of notebook paper, written in her daddy's neat, precise handwriting._

_Rachel,_

_ I'm so sorry, dearest. I can't be here for you anymore. Daddy and Mommy had a disagreement that we can't fix., and she told me to leave. So I have to leave, but I promise, as soon as I get settled in a new house, I'll come back for you. I promise, so just wait for me. _

_ Love and kisses, Dearest._

_ Daddy_

_Rachel read and reread the note, tears pooling in her eyes. Daddy was gone. He was gone and he wasn't coming back. But… he promised to come for her, so maybe… maybe she'd be able to leave Mom and Rebecca. Maybe Daddy would find a lady to marry again who would love Rachel. She clutched the letter to her chest and wished with all her heart that her daddy would come back._

………………………………………*_END MEMORY*_………………………………………….

Rachel allowed herself to fall sideways, ending up laying on the couch, tears rising in her again at the memory. She'd waited, all right. She'd waited for eight years. Yeah, he'd come back for her. That note was the last she heard of him. He hadn't come back, and now she knew he never would.

And she'd been stuck wither her mother and sister, both of whom had never made it a secret that they didn't want her around. Her father was the only one who had even bothered to love her a little, and even he hadn't loved her enough to keep his promise.

She'd trusted him, believed in him, and he'd betrayed her. Rachel pulled her MP3 out and looked at it, remembering when her father had given it to her. It had been her tenth birthday, shortly before he left. She stuck the earbuds in and closed her eyes, intending to take Tom's advice and rest. The first of many Tokio Hotel songs began to play softly in her ears as she tried to sleep.

That plan failed. As soon as Bill's voice started ringing through the buds, she began to sing along with him. The songs came one after another, and she sang them all, German and English, her voice getting louder and stronger with each passing song. She lost track of time and place, her world filled with the music, filled with nothing but her voice following Bill's.

This was her world, the only place she truly belonged.

* * *

TOM

Once on stage, Tom thought he might be able to forget about Rachel and actually concentrate on the music. That did not happen. Every time a song ended, he found himself looking for her, and even when he was playing, hers was the only face he saw. He heard the hundreds of voices singing along and screaming, but all he heard was the quiet voice of the black-haired girl that he thought he might honestly like.

The concert continued, and he forced himself to keep up his normal behavior, trying to show that nothing was different, but it was. He was no longer in the music, and it wasn't in him anymore. It was her. Rachel. She was what he played for now. Not Bill, not himself, not the G's. They weren't even on his mind as he played. She was.

Bill motioned for the next song to start, and he played the opening lines of "Sacred". Like everything else since he'd seen Rachel go down by the stage, it made him think of her, but this time… this time, he had the emotion again. He played the song for her, as if she was there to hear it. Unaware of anything but the song, Tom played better than he ever had before.

* * *

RACHEL

Rachel had already gone through almost her entire playlist; she was completely focused on the music, more so than she usually was. Normally, her music was her only venue of escape, the only way she could avoid her mother yelling at her for things that weren't her fault, or her sister's insults. The words made sense to her. These were things she understood better than anyone else. Realizing she'd missed the opening of the next song, she forced herself away from those dark thoughts, and she started singing along with "Spring Nicht". Her voice cracked a couple times, but she ignored that and focused her entire being on the song, the words.

* * *

TOM

Finally, they were on the last song of the night. "Final Day". It was a great ending song, and Tom enjoyed playing it, mainly because he was exhausted by now, and really wanted to go lie down somewhere and sleep for a decade. Gustav started the drum part, and he and Georg soon followed suit. Bill's voice leaped in after them, even as he started bouncing around the stage with the same level of energy as he'd had in the beginning. Tom's attention to the song wavered for a second, wondering how on earth Bill managed to maintain that kind of energy. Hell, all he'd done for these two hours was stand in one spot and move his hands and fingers, and he was more tired than his brother, who'd spent that time leaping around the stage like a nut. Than again, that was Bill.

Tom forced himself back to the song. '_Come on, moron, you can't lose focus now!_' Just as he rebooted his brain and got completely refocused, he heard Bill sing the last few lines of the song.

_Live on…_

_Live on…_

_This is our final day…_

The crowd went absolutely nuts as the four of them headed off the stage, glad that was over and they could get around to some much-needed sleep. Tom pulled Bill behind him, racing for the rooms, and the couch that he was going to claim for a little while. Or share with Rachel, as the case may be.

Speaking of… As they neared the door leading to their quote-unquote "private area", Tom heard an unfamiliar voice singing "Rescue Me". He froze, causing Bill to nearly slam into him, and listened, ignoring Bill's annoyed, "What the hell?"

"Listen. Is that-?"

"Rachel? Can't think of anyone else that would be in there."

"But… she can sing, man. If that's actually her, that is."

"Open the door and find out then, genius." When Tom didn't move, Bill shoved him out of the way and opened the door, yanking Tom in after him. He then shoved Tom in the direction from which the voice was coming. "Go find out, man."

Tom slowly approached the door, listening to the familiar words, sung in such an unfamiliar way, and tone… and emotion.

_The walls are coming closer_

_My senses fade away_

_I'm haunted by your shadow_

_I reach to feel your face._

_You're not here; are you here?_

The voice cut off abruptly, and he heard a soft sigh through the door. Rachel. He carefully pushed the door open, but she didn't hear him. After a brief examination, he realized why: she had earbuds in with music turned up so loud he could hear it from five feet away. Tom approached her from behind, laying a hand gently on her shoulder, not in the least expecting her reaction.

She shrieked and leaped nearly a foot in the air, her hair forming a cloud around her head. He almost started rolling all across the floor laughing, but the embarrassed, slightly ashamed look on her face kept him from doing so.

"Sorry. I didn't mean-" Before he could finish, a loud bang and a shout from the other room cut him off.

"RACHEL!" a woman's voice screamed. Tom turned towards the door, confused, but at Rachel's soft gasp, he faced her again. She had shut down. All emotion was gone from her face.

"Who's that, Rachel?"

After a long moment, she answered him. "My sister. I knew she would come eventually." Even her voice had lost all inflection, scaring the crap out of him. Her eyes dropped to the floor. "I gotta go. _Danke_, Tom. For everything." She started to move towards the door, looking like she would rather be going anywhere but there. Tom slipped an arm around her shoulders in a brief hug, and the grateful look she gave him was worth even Georg's teasing for what he wanted to do.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "No matter what she or anyone says, I'm glad I met you tonight, Rachel. I wouldn't trade a minute of it." She looked up at him, and a brief light rose in her eyes.

_Don't turn around, you'll see_

_You can make it, never forget_

_To me you'll be forever sacred._

**AN: yeah, sorry about the crapiness of that last bit, I got tired and braindead… yeah… oh, well, hope y'all liked it anyway… yup rebecca's back, and she's just as annoyingly evil as before… whoo-hoo… *note the sarcasm* anywhoodles, see that little green button on the bottom of the page? Yeah? Hit it and make me EXTREMELY happy… ^__^**

**Tata for now!!!!!!!!!!**

**This is TwinSwords signing off!!!!!!!!!!**


	8. Shared Dream

**AN: hallo, again, alls y'all!!!!!!!!!! Miss me? Well, here I am again with Chappy Eight, aren't you happy? *holds up applause sign* anyway, y'all are probably going to want to kill me for this chappy, or just Rebecca, or both of us, I'm not sure yet… just remember, if you kill me, this story won't ever get finished!!!!! HAHA!!! I win… I'm done….**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL OR ANYTHING ELSE IN HERE THAT ACTUALLY EXISTS. YOU KNOW WHO BELONGS TO ME IN THIS STORY, SO I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO MENTION IT.**

Previously: _He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "No matter what she or anyone says, I'm glad I met you tonight, Rachel. I wouldn't trade a minute of it." She looked up at him, and a brief light rose in her eyes._

* * *

TOM

Seeing that sudden light in Rachel's eyes made Tom's entire world right again, it seemed. He couldn't stand that dead look, hated whoever it was that had given it to her. Judging from the fact that it had showed up when her sister had, he assumed she had something to do with it. Speaking of, he heard the sister yelling again in the front room, and Bill trying to appease her.

"Where is she? I was told she was here!" Sister sounded rather pissed off, Tom thought.

"She is; she just needs a minute…" Bill, as always, sounded calm, but Tom recognized the undercurrent of anger there. He was just as angry at Sister as Tom. This suited the older twin just fine. It meant that Rachel wouldn't be undefended when she went out there.

"Too bad. She's wasted enough of my time." Sister's teeth grinding together was practically audible in the dressing room. Tom glanced back down at Rachel's face, not surprised, but thoroughly upset to see the dead look was back.

He slipped an arm around her shoulders briefly, trying to give her some semblance of support, but it didn't seem to work. No light came to her eyes. In fact, she didn't even seem to realize he was there anymore. That bothered him. It really did. No one should have that effect on a girl who was in her late teens, he assumed. She looked around eighteen, so he just decided to go with that. No eighteen-year-old should look like that when family was nearby.

"It'll be ok, Rachel. I'm right here." Her head moved in what he hoped was a nod. After a moment of just standing there, he realized they were both stalling. He gently pulled her towards the door, wishing he could go the other way, take her away from the thing that caused her pain. "Come on. Can't hide forever." Her eyes darkened even more it that were possible. '_Crap! Wrong thing to say._' He debated trying to fix things, but settled for another shoulder squeeze, again getting no response. He sighed and opened the connecting door.

* * *

RACHEL

Tom opened the door leading to the main room and Rebecca. She was surprised at how angry her sister sounded, not at the words so much as the tone. It had been a while since she'd heard that tone. Maybe two weeks? Something like that. Tom's arm dropped from her shoulders as he led her out into the main room; she felt his surprise at her sister's appearance. Rachel barely looked up enough to make sure that it was, in fact, Rebecca, mainly out of habit. Sometimes she was mistaken and the female voice was yelling at someone else, or they were yelling at her but they weren't Rebecca. She slowly approached the older girl, her eyes dropping back to the floor.

Right up until her sister's hand forced her chin up, made her meet Rebecca's angry gaze. "What the hell, Rachel? Don't you get enough attention everywhere else? Did you have to be a nuisance here?"

Tom leaped in, irritated. "She wasn't a nuisance. Not at all." He glanced over at Bill, hoping for a little bit of support. Bill nodded, whether in agreement or assurance, Rachel couldn't tell, but he chimed in a moment later.

"She really wasn't bother at all, Miss." Rachel saw Rebecca's eyes flash as she turned to glare at him.

"She always is," she snarled, causing both Bill and Tom to glare at her. She ignored them, taking Rachel's arm in a grip so tight it hurt. "Come on, Rachel. I need to get home." Rachel allowed herself to be dragged from the room, not seeing Tom's sorry expression, or the suddenly shocked look when he realized what he'd forgotten to do.

* * *

TOM

As the door slammed shut behind Rachel and her older sister- who was a creepy, creepy character- Tom started feeling strangely bereft. And like he'd forgotten something. He turned to Bill, who was watching him carefully.

"Am I forgetting anything?"

"Did you give her-" he didn't even finish his sentence before Tom's head fell into his hand with a groan.

"Yes, I did forget something. Be right back." With that, he shot back into the dressing room, grabbed a pencil and a sheet of paper from a pad that was laying around, and wrote his and Bill's cell numbers, along with a quickly written note in bad English. After he was done, he checked over it, cursed his spelling and bad grammar, and sprinted out the door, one of the bodyguards followed him, just to be on the safe side.

Tom shot down the hallway, hoping he got to them before they left the building; if they had, he knew the guard wouldn't let him chase after her and any chances he had at seeing her again would go bye-bye. He heard said guard behind him, and glanced back quickly to see who it was. Daniel. Of course it would be Daniel. Tom turned back forwards before he ran into a wall or something and skidded to a halt just in time. His face inches from the wall, he heard three things.

One was Daniel stopping next to him. The second was the sound of someone getting hit. Third was a soft cry of pain that he knew instinctively was Rachel. Her sister was freaking hitting her!

As the sounds continued, he became aware of what Sister was telling Rachel. He tried to not hear the specifics, but he couldn't help but catch some things.

"This is what you get for stealing attention… should learn not to fake things… don't lie to me… we both know that's not true…" among a million other insults that he almost filed away for future use before remembering to whom they were being addressed. He glanced back at Daniel, thinking that maybe it wasn't such a hot idea to step in again now. He motioned Daniel in closer and muttered in his ear, "Do you mind giving this," he shoved the note into the other man's hand, "to Rachel, the one with long black hair?" Daniel studied him for a moment.

"Why don't you?"

"Don't think it would be a good idea for Big Sister to see me again. Not when seeing me is what's making that-" he pantomimed someone being hit, "-happen in the first place." Daniel, apparently judging this a good enough reason, closed his hand over the note and stepped around the corner, calling to Rachel.

"Miss? Miss Rachel, you forgot something."

Tom caught the soft, "What?" that Rachel uttered. Big Sister just snorted.

"More likely she dropped it on purpose."

"Please, be kind. I found this in the hallway. Miss Rachel?" Footsteps, then, in a much softer voice, "Mr. Kaulitz wanted me to give this to you. He didn't think being seen by your sister again was a good idea."

Tom heard the sounds of the note being unwrapped, then silence for a moment. "Tell him thank you for me, and I will."

"Of course. Drive home safely." Daniel came back around the corner, his face thunderous. Tom, knowing full well that this rage could not directed at him, nonetheless backed away a little, raising his hands in a "calm down" gesture. "Her face. Her face, Tom. No one should treat a member of their family like that."

"What? What happened." It wasn't question.

"You were right about the hitting. Half of that poor girl's face was red… and she was bleeding… looked like her sister had a ring on or something, and that's what she hit…" Daniel's voice trailed off as Tom started growling.

'_I hope she calls me… I can't let this go on… wait… wonder if that's what she meant when… no, couldn't be… could it?_'

* * *

LATER THAT NIGHT, STILL TOM

Close to three o'clock in the morning, Tom was still thinking the same things. What had Rachel meant? What made her sister hit her? Why did she act like everything in the world was Rachel's fault?

Tom rolled over in bed and sighed. This was going nowhere fast. None of his questions could be answered without Rachel being there, and he wouldn't be able to talk to her again unless she called. Trying not to wake Bill, Tom muttered a curse under his breath and sat up. Sleep was miles away; there wasn't really a point in trying until he got his mind calmed down. Which wasn't going to happen anytime soon. He cursed again, slightly louder this time.

"Tom. If you're going to be that noisy, you can go next door so you keep the G's up, not me," came Bill's disgruntled voice from the other bed. When Tom didn't answer, Bill continued, "This has got something to do with Rachel, doesn't it? You've been quiet since you got back from seeing her that last time." Tom heard Bill sit up as well, could barely see him across the room. "What was it? What happened?"

"I shouldn't say anything. It's her business."

"_Ja_, but it's distracting you. Normally, you're in bed and asleep within two seconds. I've heard you rolling around for the last," he checked the clock, "three hours."

Tom blinked in surprise. "It's been that long?"

"Yup, and you've been quiet for maybe half an hour. Maybe." He waited, but Tom still didn't answer. "Look, Tom, just tell me."

"Don't wanna betray her."

"You won't be. Maybe I can help."

Tom sighed again, trying to think of a way to explain that didn't involve actually saying it. After a moment, it came to him. "This is hypothetical."

Bill was confused. "Hypothetical? Why?"

"Because I can, Bill."

"Yeah, just tell me straight up. It's too early for riddles."

"You mean late?"

"_Nein_. I mean early. Now stop stalling and tell me."

"Fine, fine. If it'll make you shut up."

"Now you're just being mean." Tom practically heard the sadness in Bill's tone. Tried to ignore it, knowing he was faking. And failed. Epically.

"Bill, stop it. I'll tell." Bill stopped and sat up, reaching over to turn on one of the lamps. Probably so he could see Tom and make sure he wasn't lying. "You remember what I talked about earlier?" he waited for Bill's "yes" before continuing. "I'm starting to figure out what might be happening. I think maybe… no, that can't be right?"

"What can't? Tom, what are you going on about?" Bill was starting to sound slightly annoyed. "If all you're going to do is ramble, can I go back to sleep?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because… I need to tell you this. Did her sister tell you her name?"

"Ummm…. Rebecca, I think she said."

"OK. Rebecca, then. After she took Rachel with her, I remembered what you'd told me to do."

"Huh?"

"Give Rachel my number. So I wrote it down and caught up with them."

"So that's what you ran out for!"

"Bill. Still talking."

"Sorry."

"When I caught them, I heard Rebecca yelling at Rachel, for no reason that I could see, blaming her for things that I know she didn't do."

"Like what?"

"Like the reason she fainted. Rachel told me it was a panic attack. Rebecca thinks Rachel was lying about it, just to get close to us."

"You don't think so."

"I know she didn't. You can't fake something like that."

"I know. Anyway, there's more, isn't there?"

"Yeah… Rebecca was hitting her. I was behind the corner and I could hear it. So I gave the paper to Daniel, and, yes he'd followed me, for him to give to her."

"Why didn't you do it yourself? Wasn't that the whole point?"

"Figured that we were the reason Rebecca," and he turned the name into what sounded like a curse, "was hitting her to begin with, so seeing me again wouldn't help any." Bill nodded, his eyes locked on Tom's face. "But, when Daniel came back, he was pissed. It takes a lot to piss off that guy, but whatever Rebecca had done did it."

"So does this have anything to do with what you told me earlier? About what Rachel had said?"

"I think so, but I'd rather hear it from her before I say so for certain."

"I see." Bill turned the light off and snuggled back down in bed. "Can we sleep now?" Tom laughed softly, but slid back down himself, waiting for sleep to claim him.

It didn't take long.

* * *

RACHEL

The ride home with Rebecca was torture. Her sister kept up a steady stream of insults, veiled and unveiled threats, along with her typical Rebecca-ranting. After a little while, though, Rachel was able to sneak her earbuds in, therefore ignoring the majority of her sister's ramble. However, as they drove up to their house, Rachel felt fear build in her gut.

Her mother was not going to be happy to hear of tonight's misadventure.

Rebecca lived up to her expectations: no sooner were they in the door that she was telling their mother, who'd waited up for her, of what Rachel had done. She made it seem as though all of it, the panic, the fainting, had been on purpose. And, considering that her mother was among those that didn't think Rachel deserved to be part of the family, was lapping it all up. Rachel didn't even bother to try and defend herself; with her family, excuses were useless. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the expected blow when it came.

"You little wretch!" There it was. Something cold and hard slammed into her eye so hard she saw stars even with her eyes shut. "You should have learned by now that no one cares about you! No one cares! And no one ever will! So stop the stunts. They're never going to work." Rachel felt another blow, this time to her face, in the same spot Rebecca had slapped her earlier. She couldn't hold back the sob of pain as her mother's hand connected. After a moment, when no more hits came, she looked out again, studying her mother's face. She was white with rage, her eyes slightly bloodshot from the drink. Rachel briefly glanced down, seeing a beer bottle by her feet; it was what had hit her in the eye earlier. With a quiet groan, she raised left her eyes on the floor, waiting to hear her mother's punishment decree. "No electronics. Music thingy, hand it over." A hand was shoved under her face. Rachel had no choice but to drop her precious MP3 into it. "No phone, TV sneaking, or anything else."

"How long?" Rachel hated the weakness in her voice. She was so much stronger when Tom was around. What had he said? _"No matter what she or anyone says, I'm glad I met you tonight, Rachel. I wouldn't trade a minute of it."_ He was glad he'd met her. That alone gave her the strength to look up and meet her mother's eyes and speak again, stronger this time. "How long?"

"Until I say so." Her mother's voice was hard and brooked no argument, as if Rachel had the guts to argue back. Knowing she had no choice, she nodded and headed upstairs to her room, ignoring her mother's and Rebecca's calls for her to come back. She had better things to think of than her family's disdain for her.

Before slipping into her room, she checked her face in the bathroom mirror. Poking her eye, she winced, realizing she was probably going to have a black eye there. '_Isn't that fantastic?_' She shook the sarcastic remark out of her head, going to her bedroom. She let the door click shut quietly behind her, her eyes going straight to the poster-size printout of Tom on her ceiling. She smiled up at it easily this time, even though her face hurt like nobody's business and no doubt she was going to have crap to bear tomorrow for walking away from her mother when she was in rant mode, but it was all worth it. Because Tom was glad he'd met her. That was worth more than anything she owned or anything her family might say to her.

Rachel held those words to her heart as she changed into her pajamas, turned the lights out, and went to bed. Those words were going to carry her over the next few days, most likely. She smiled slightly as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

TOM AND RACHEL: SHARED DREAM (yes, I know it's the name of the chapter, so sue me)

_Tom stood at the top of a hill, looking out over a peaceful scene. The night sky was cloudless, the moon hanging huge and low over the horizon. A slight breeze picked up around him, making him shiver slightly. As he stood there cursing the wind, though, he heard a joyful laugh from below him. He looked down the hill to see a girl with long black hair standing with her arms out, laughing as the wind played with her hair, causing it to fall over her face. Her back was to him, but she reminded him of Rachel, for some odd reason. She continued to laugh, and he couldn't help but join in……………………………………………………………………………_

_Rachel stood, again, at the bottom of a grassy hill. The night sky hung peaceful above her, the moon allowing her to see almost everything in perfect detail. A breeze played with her hair, tossing it over her shoulders into her face. She laughed and brushed it back, afterwards, throwing her arms out to feel the wind everywhere. As the breeze died down, though, she head another sound. Someone was laughing at her._

_She turned around and saw the boy from her other dream standing at the top of the hill. She caught a glimpse of a lip ring as he laughed; she actually had the distinct feeling he was laughing with her. She smiled at him and trudged up the hill to him, sensing that now was the time to talk to him. It was right……………………………………………………………………………_

_She'd heard him laugh, he knew it. Tom waited to for her to yell at him for laughing at her, but instead she smiled up at him and began to run up the hill separating them. As she got closer, he began to see similarities between her and the girl from his other dream, the club one. Finally, she reached the top and stood before him, one hand resting on her hip as she smiled up at him. With a start, he realized that she was almost as tall as him, probably tall enough to fit under his chin if he put her there. He grinned back at her. _

"_You're beautiful, you know that?"_

* * *

_ He spoke softly, in a strong German accent. Rachel stared up the few inches between their eyes, seeing his dream face for the first time. Tom. It was Tom. He was the one who'd rescued her so many times, not only the one time in real life, but in her dreams. He'd always been there. Her hand rose to his arm before she could stop it._

_ "Tom?"_

* * *

_ "Tom?" she asked in a quiet voice, as though she hadn't known it was him before. He placed his hand over hers on his arm, his grin fading slightly in confusion._

_ "_Ja_, it's me." He then took the time to study her. Long black hair, large eyes that he could barely see, they were so dark… wait… Rachel had eyes like that. How could he have not noticed before. It was Rachel! Rachel was the girl in the club, the one he'd always felt was perfect for him. She was waiting now, waiting for him._

_ "Rachel…"_

* * *

_ Rachel felt his surprise as he figured out who she was. "Rachel…" his voice was suddenly softer, huskier than she'd ever heard it before. "Rachel… Do you remember the note Daniel, the guard gave you?"_

_ "Yes. I remember."_

_ "Call me. I have to see you again, know you're safe." _

_ They both felt the dream ending._

_ "Call me, Rachel. Please!"_

_ Right before everything faded and their sleep turned dreamless, he heard her call back, "I will! I promise!"_

**AN: woooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Long chappy, I win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, I ended that there 'cause if I hadn't I would have rambled on forever and y'all woulda been bored out of your minds…. So, hope y'all like eight… I had fun writing it, even though I hate hate hate hate HATE!!!!!!!!!!!! Rachel's family…. ^__^ so, I expect reviews from you peoplez!!!!!! The little green button on the bottom of the page wants you to click it and review and make TwinSwords happy!!!!!!!! You know you want to ^__^ !!!!!!!!!!!**

**TwinSwords saying seeya laterz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	9. Waiting

**AN: I'm alive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! Aren't y'all happy? Anywhos, sorry it took so long to get this one out…. Was temporarily banned from Fanfiction…. That sucked, and when I got back on, nobody had updated any…. Bleh…. Anyway, on to the next installment of the story of win!!!!!!!! Btw, writer's block sucks… sucks… which is the other reason why I didn't update sooner…. ^__^**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL. IF I DID, A LOT OF THINGS WOULD BE DIFFERENT. AND AGAIN, NO STEALING OF THE SUMMERS FAMILY. KILLING OF REBECCA AND MOMMY SUMMERS IS ALLOWED. HAVE FUN.**

Previously: _Right before everything faded and their sleep turned dreamless, he heard her call back, "I will! I promise!"_

* * *

TOM

The days after the concert were a trial by fire for Tom, testing his patience beyond anything he'd ever had to go through before. Even the time he, Georg, and Bill spent waiting before a show didn't make him this twitchy and nervous.

The morning after, he'd woken with a headache and the tantalizing remnants of a dream, one that he felt was important to remember, but could barely recall even the smallest detail of. The fact that Bill was mumbling in his sleep and the G's were playing some video game in the next room hadn't helped in the least. Tom had spent all of that day either staring at his phone or trying to distract himself with games and pulling pranks on everyone else. This morning hadn't been much better. He hadn't slept well the night before, and, as such, woke up with another headache and a very cranky outlook on life. After a couple hours in his company, the others had apparently decided they'd be safer if they just left him alone. That suited him just fine, as he pretty much spent the day glaring at his and Bill's phones, daring them to remain silent. And they'd dared. Neither phone had made so much as a peep in two days.

The waiting was going to drive Tom mad.

* * *

BILL

Ever since Tom had gotten back from seeing Rachel that last time, he'd been acting weird. Bill was vaguely regretting giving him the phone number idea, but it had made sense at the time. If only he'd known how much it would affect Tom. The first night, he'd lain there, listening to Tom floundering around in the other bed for _Gott_knew how many hours before he'd finally spoken up and gotten his twin talking. Except now, he almost wished he hadn't.

Knowing what Tom suspected about the black-haired girl's- Rachel's- family situation was making him twitchy as well. They had been raised in the belief that one should never hit a girl, let alone on in your own family; Rachel's family had gone and done both. That, and she'd said, according to Tom, that no one had ever wanted her. In any case, knowing what she might be going through because she'd met them was making him almost as hard to approach as Tom these last couple days.

Tom was always a little hard to deal with, but he usually tried to be approachable. These last two days, he'd practically bitten everyone's- including Bill's- heads off whenever anyone tried to talk to him. Bill had been starting to worry, and he hadn't been the only one.

Georg, surprisingly, was concerned about Tom's behavior; of course, he was assuming it had something to do with the fact that Tom hadn't done "it" since the last concert. Saturday night, he'd come up to Bill, bringing up the subject.

…………………………………..BEGIN FLASHBACK…………………………………………

_ Bill plopped down at the table in the tour bus, watching Tom out of the corner of his eye. Tom had done nothing but stare at his phone all day, waiting for it to ring. He had finally taken his eyes off it, resting his head on his arms, one hand still curled almost protectively around the phone. Bill sighed. Tom was starting to worry him; he really was. He shouldn't be that obsessed with a girl he'd known for less than an hour. Bill slowly copied his brother, letting his head flop down onto his folded arms. He sat there for a while, until movement next to him announced that he was no longer alone._

_ "Hey, Bill?" Amazingly, it wasn't Tom. Bill raised his head, shocked to see that Georg was sitting across from him, also watching Tom._

_ "_Ja_, Georg?"_

_ "Is it just me, or has Tom been different since last night?"_

_ Bill sighed again. He wasn't the only one that had noticed, apparently. "Yeah."_

_ "Mind telling me why?" This was the part of Georg that confused Bill. Sometimes, he was such a goofy idiot, and others, he was all serious. It was rather odd._

_ "So long as you don't use it to blackmail him later."_

_ "Never even crossed my mind." Bill looked over at the bassist, who looked altogether too innocent._

_ "Sure it didn't."_

_ "Whatever. So, what's going on with Tom? I mean, he's usually only like this when he hasn't-" Bill's glare cut him off before he could go into detail._

_ "I know. But it's not that this time."_

_ "You sure?"_

_ "I think I'd know my own twin well enough to say, wouldn't you?" Georg put his hands up in a "calm down" gesture. Bill took a couple deep breaths and continued, "Yeah, I'm sure."_

_ "Then what-?"_

_ Bill interrupted, "It's the girl he met last night. The black-haired one that passed out in the middle of the concert."_

_ "Oh. So he wants to-"_

_ "_No_." Bill smacked Georg upside the head. "He's worried about her."_

_ Georg gave him an odd look. "_Was_? Tom, worried? Bull."_

_ "Not. She's apparently gone through some… stuff… with her family, and Tom found out about some of it. He gave her his number, and now he's waiting for her to call him back." Georg was quiet for a minute as he digested this information._

_ "So, he's not having…" his voice trailed off as Bill glared at him again. "So he's honestly into this girl, is he?"_

_ "_Ja_, I think so."_

_ "Wow. So that's why he's been weird?"_

_ "Pretty much." Georg nodded, accepting that._

_ "Think we should watch him?"_

_ "Why?"_

_ "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."_

_ "That's you."_

_ "Not."_

_ "Is to." Before Georg could argue back, Bill continued, "I don't think we need to really watch him just yet." Georg agreed after a moment and headed back to where Gustav was waiting with a video game controller._

……………………………………..END FLASHBACK…………………………………………

Georg had been quiet since: apparently, he'd taken his own initiative and had been keeping an eye on Tom when Bill wasn't. Bill glanced over at the other bed. Tom had gone to sleep early tonight, apparently not wanting to deal with more waiting. Bill knew the waiting must be driving Tom absolutely nuts. He had never been patient, but this… this must be torment for him.

* * *

RACHEL

The days after the concert were torture for Rachel. Without her music, and no means to get out of the house, she'd been forced to endure the taunts and lectures she would normally be able to avoid. Rebecca stayed home pretty much all day Saturday and Sunday; after a couple hours, Rachel realized how bad an idea it was to stay in the same room as her sister.

Rebecca was normally just spiteful and mean to her younger sister. Since the concert, she'd gotten worse. Violent, even. Every time she passed Rachel, she either hit her again or pinched skin hard enough to break the skin or cause bruises. Rachel's arms were now covered in black and blue marks, adding to the large bruise on her face and the black eye from the night of the concert. She was reaching the end of her endurance.

Rachel didn't want to admit it, but she was reaching the point where she had to call Tom. She just couldn't take her home life anymore.

* * *

TWO DAYS AFTER CONCERT, STILL RACHEL

Rachel sighed. Tomorrow she had to go back to summer school, and that, added to the torment of her home life, was pushing her over the edge. She had considered running away before, but had never dreamed of acting on it. Of course, before now, she'd never had anyone willing to let her stay with them. But now…

Now, she had Tom.

Around three in the afternoon, Rebecca tore out of the house in a rage. At Rachel, of course. Everything since the concert had been Rachel's fault, even the lack of food in the pantry, which was technically their mother's job. Rachel watched her sister's Honda screech out of the driveway; once she was gone, she turned back towards her mother's room. The sounds of keys clacking came from inside, so she knew her mother was still hard at work at whatever it was that she did. Rachel snuck towards the phone, praying that Lauren wouldn't suddenly get the munchies and come out of her room. Swiftly, Rachel yanked the phone off the jack and ran lightly to her bedroom.

Once there, she dug around in a couple of her books before she found the paper on which Tom's number and note were written. Taking a deep breath, she mashed the talk button and dialed. The phone rang once, twice, three… nearly seven times before someone finally picked up.

"_Hallo_?"

* * *

TOM

"Argh, that was cheating, Bill!" Tom yelled over the noise of the Xbox and the other guys' noise. They were playing Super Smash Brothers Melee, and Bill had just thrown him off the platform while Tom'd been yelling at Georg.

"Was not!"

"Was!" Tom's character fell back onto the screen, and he promptly got shoved off the edge again, this time by Gustav.

"Was not!" Bill crowed happily, ignoring Tom's distraction.

Tom finally realized what Bill had said and yelled back, "Was! Was times a hundred!"

"Was not times a thousand!"

Gustav entered in with an irritated, "Grow up!" Both twins turned to glare at him.

"Never!" they retorted at the same time before returning to their argument.

"Was, times a million!"

"Was not, infinity!"

"Dammit, Bill!"

"Ha! I win!" Bill started laughing triumphantly as his character got shoved off by Georg, ending his final life. "Hey!"

"There! Now you know how it feels!" Tom growled at him, trying to hit Gustav while not wasting his last life by falling off the edge without anyone else's help. Suddenly, the hammer theme song started playing, and Georg started laughing maniacally. "Crap! Georg's got the hammer!" Gustav yelled as Georg's character came running across the screen, the giant sledgehammer that was the bane of anyone's existence bashing anything that got in its way. Within seconds, both Tom and Gustav had gone flying over the edge. Gustav's character then fell back onscreen. Tom's didn't. "Dammit! Why am I so bad at these games?" Tom groaned as he finally became aware of the fact that his butt was ringing. He dug his phone out and answered it, "_Hallo_?"

A soft voice responded, a voice that he immediately recognized. Rachel. She'd finally called him! "Tom?"

"_Ja_, it's me," he answered, his voice subconsciously changing from its normal loud, obnoxious tone to something more gentle. Bill and Georg gave him weird looks, but he ignored them; the controller fell to the floor as he headed to the front lounge area for some relative privacy. "Sorry 'bout that; we've been playing video games since we got up this morning." He saw no need to mention that today was the first time he'd actually done something with his band mates that didn't involve him yelling.

"It's aight." A slight, previously unnoticeable, accent colored her voice. Tom felt his mouth curl up in an involuntary smile.

"So, what's up?" He cursed himself; here she was, sounding more nervous than before, if that were possible, and he was being all casual.

"Umm… your note said you'd come if I needed you…" her voice, already quiet, dropped another few decibels, almost into the inaudible.

"_Ja_. Rachel… Do you need me to come?"

She didn't answer for a long time. Tom felt himself going tense as he waited. Then, just as she was taking a breath in to answer him, he heard a loud crash and a woman's voice yelling in the background. Another crash echoed louder his ear, and he realized that Rachel had dropped the phone.

"Rachel!" he cried, not caring if the guys heard him anymore. Noise was still coming from the TV elsewhere, but he couldn't tell if they were listening or not. But it didn't matter. All that mattered was the sounds of an argument coming from the other end, and the soft whimpers of pain that he knew had to be Rachel. Why did she have to deal with that? Couldn't her family see how special she was? As he heard the things her mother was calling her, he had to be honest with himself. No. No, they didn't.

Finally, he heard the phone being picked up, and an unfamiliar voice spoke into it. "Good-bye!"

"Wait!" He spoke as quickly as possible, but it wasn't fast enough. All he heard was the dial tone. "Rachel…" Apparently, she'd gotten in trouble for talking to him; that wouldn't do. Suddenly determined, he found the number she'd called him from and called back. The phone rang twice before the woman from before answered.

"What?"

"Sorry, but I have to talk to Rachel. It's important. Is she there?" He tried to use all the correct grammar, and he toned down his accent as much as possible. She considered, and he forced himself not to hold his breath.

"All right." He heard her calling for Rachel, her voice suddenly a lot harsher than she'd been with him. Moments later, through the earpiece, he heard her tell Rachel, "You have exactly two minutes. Got that?"

"Yes."

"Good." Footsteps receded, and then Rachel's voice came through again.

"Tom?"

"Yeah. Listen, was that your mother?"

"_Ja_."

"Just now… was she hitting you?"

"…_ja_."

Tom took a deep breath, trying to reign in his temper. "Pack."

"_Was_?"

"Tell me your address, and get your stuff packed."

"Why?"

"I'm not letting you stay there."

"Aight, then." She took a deep breath, and relayed her address quickly, spelling it out in German for him while he wrote it down.

"_Danke_. I'll be there soon, 'kay?

She was quiet for a minute. "Okay."

"See you soon," he whispered. He barely heard her soft "yes" before she hung up. Tom stared at his phone for an endless couple of minutes. Then, full of fresh determination, he got up and yelled for Gustav, who came over a little too quickly for someone who hadn't been eavesdropping. Whatever. He needed the drummer dude's help right now. When they were alone, he explained what he needed help with, without telling him why. With only the token amount of arguing, Gustav agreed to help him, but made him swear that he would at least take Bill along. Tom promised. Gustav disappeared for a moment, coming back with the bus's detachable GPS thingy. Tom gave him Rachel's address, which he then programmed into the system. Handing it back to Tom, Gustav met his eyes squarely.

"Be careful, Tom."

"I will," Tom answered, grinning. "I'll have Bill with me, won't I?" Gustav just shook his head and left, calling for Bill as he went.

* * *

RACHEL

_"I'm not letting you stay there."_ What on earth had he meant by that? With a sigh, Rachel put the thought out of her head, tugging her only suitcase out of her closet and throwing all the clothes she owned into it, along with a few books she enjoyed. Reaching up, she touched her pendant, just to make sure it was still there. She then zippered the bag shut, amazed that all her stuff fit into the one giant duffle. Rachel paused, listening for her mother, then plopped down on her bed, looking around at her posters.

If what she'd assumed was right, Tom meant for her to stay with them, which meant she wouldn't need the posters or pictures anymore. However, just because she would like the privacy of her headphones, she'd probably want her MP3. Too bad her mother wasn't going to be giving it back anytime soon. It was then that it all hit Rachel.

She was leaving. Like her father eight years ago, she was leaving, and she wasn't coming back. Her eyes roamed her room for what was probably going to be the last time.

She was leaving. Her heart swelled at the thought. No more Rebecca. No more taunts, no more… no more anything. She was free. And, even better, she was wanted. Finally, someone wanted the unwanted.

She was loved.

**AN: so, there y'all have it, Chappy 9! Wooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man, I love it when writer's block leads to really good chapters!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, yeah, hopefully, I'll be able to work on Chappy 10, but it might be a little while again!!!!!!! Gomen, Gomen-nasai! (I'm sorry, I'm sorry!) I'll do my best!!!!!!!**

**Sayonara!**

**TwinSwords saying Good Night!**


	10. Coming Home

**AN:** **yah, I am alive again!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, I hate not having writer's block anymore, that sucks, as stated in the previous chapter… ^__^ anywho's I GOT ANOTHER SCHOLARSHIP TO YOUNG HARRIS, wOOt!!!!!!!!! I IS PROUD OF MYSELF!!!!!!!!! Ok, now that I got that out of my system, on to the disclaimer and the STORY!!!!!!!!!**

**DISCLAIMER: AS STATED SO MANY TIMES BEFORE, I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL. SADLY. I DO OWN RACHEL SUMMERS, AND, IF REVIEWRS HAVEN'T KILLED THEM PERMANENTLY YET, LARUEN AND REBECCA SUMMERS.**

Previously: _And, even better, she was wanted. Finally, someone wanted the unwanted. She was loved. _(oh, and btw, this chapter starts before the call)

* * *

BILL

"Dammit! Why am I so bad at these things!" Tom complained as he got thrown off the edge of the game platform. Bill just sat thee and laughed softly at his twin's misfortune, something that didn't happen often enough for Bill. Tomi's ego needed to be knocked down sometimes, and such misfortunes were what did it. Sadly, though, too few people gave Tom a hard time, therefore his ego remained high as a kite and as big as anything. Bill sighed as Tom dug around in his back pocket, tugging his ringing phone out a second later.

"_Hallo_?" Tom's eyes widened slightly; apparently, he recognized the voice of whoever he was talking to. Bill sighed, turning away. This was probably one of Tom's "distraction calls". He hadn't, as Georg put it, "had any" in a while, and Bill had been wondering when the aliens had replaced his twin with a non-sex-addict. It was either that or Tom had been affected by Rachel a lot more than any of the others had originally thought. Tom kept talking, and his voice was suddenly softer and far more gentle than any of his band mates had ever heard it, or at least not for a very long time, in Bill's case. "_Ja_, it's me." At the change in his voice, Bill and Georg exchanged confused looks; as one, they gave Tom the same expression, and were completely ignored as Tom got up and headed towards the front lounge part of the bus, where there was at least the semblance of privacy.

Georg made as if to follow him, but Bill and Gustav dragged him back. "Hobbit, leave him be. If he's talking like that, it's gotta be important," Gustav chastised.

"Exactly!" Georg argued in his nonsensical logic.

"Which is why we leave him alone now and badger him about it later, duh!" Bill interjected with a laugh. After a moment, Georg agreed to this plan. Gustav just sighed and returned to the game, of which a new round had just started. Georg joined him with Bill watching over his shoulder, all of them still trying to listen to Tom at the front.

Suddenly, they heard him yell out a name; it wasn't completely clear, but, based on who he'd been constantly thinking about for the past two days, Bill was willing to be it was Rachel's. A minute later, Tom yelled again. "Wait!" The game was put on mute, by who, Bill had no idea, but it made eavesdropping easier. Not that there was anything to hear: apparently, Tom had either hung up or was listening to someone talk. A minute later, he spoke again, far too quietly to hear, sadly, but it sounded like he was making plans of some kind. This couldn't be good.

Georg, bored, turned back to the game, Gustav following suit shortly after, realizing there was nothing more to hear. Bill considered sneaking up there, just to see what was going on, but decided against that idea, mainly for his own safety. If Tomi found out he'd been eavesdropping, he would find all his "important stuff" missing. And he'd probably get chased around for hours until they both got tired, and then Tom would do something stupid and they would end up in a fight. Again.

"Gustav!" Tom's sudden yell from up front startled all three of them. Confused, Gustav handed his controller to Bill and headed back to where Tom was. They stayed there for a while, talking quietly, then Gustav came back out, yelling for Bill.

"_Was_?"

"Tom wants you."

"Why?"

"Didn't say."

"Not helping."

"Just go." Gustav yanked the controller back and all but kicked Bill out of his chair.

"OW!"

"You'll be fine. Now get your butt in there before Tom starts yelling again."

"BILL!"

"Too late." Gustav went to smack Bill on the head; Bill, being tall as he was, couldn't duck far enough to dodge it. "OW! I'm going, I'm going. Geez." Rubbing his head, Bill headed to the lounge where Tom was waiting, looking like he was about to explode. "If you're going to blow up, don't do it on me."

"Funny."

"Of course." Bill took the time to study his twin. "You planned something, didn't you." It wasn't a question. He had that look on his face, one similar to Georg's "planning something" face. Apparently, they'd taught each other. Scary.

"Maybe."

"Look, Tom, enough with the dramatics-"

"Look who's talking, Drama King."

"-and just tell me what's going on!"

"Fine. Rachel needs me to come, and… well, after hearing what her mother did, I told her to pack… Bill, she's going to stay with us."

Bill was silent for a moment while he digested this information. "WHAT?!"

"I can't let her stay there!"

"WAS DIE HOELLE, TOM!"

"Dammit, Bill, listen to me!"

"WHY WOULD YOU-" Fed up, Tom smacked Bill upside the head with an annoyed, "Shut the hell up and listen to me!" Since he so rarely took that tone with Bill, the younger twin stopped shouting.

"Remember when I told you about her sister hitting her?" Bill nodded. "Well, apparently, her mother does the same thing. I can't let her stay there, Bill!"

"Tomi, she's old enough to leave on her own, and I'm not sure we can handle having a girl travel with us."

"We'll have to." Bill, still irritated, opened his mouth to argue, but Tom cut him off. "Save it, Bill. I care about her, and I can't leave her there when what she needs is to get away. And that she's not able to pull a stunt like that on her own, otherwise she would have by now, no doubt." After a long moment, Bill nodded.

"All right."

* * *

RACHEL

All her stuff was packed. Her clothes had all been shoved into one duffle bag, which could pass as a body bag, and some of her favorite books were stuck in a small backpack of sorts. Her school books, no longer needed, lay sprawled on the floor around her feet. Rachel looked around her room, debating whether there was anything else she wanted to take.

Not a thing, except for her MP3, but… now that she was going to be staying with the band, did she really need the MP3 versions? Probably not, she decided after a moment; that, and her mother wasn't going to be giving that up anytime soon. Rachel sighed, memories from the past stirring, but she shook her head and ignored them.

All that was left now was to wait for Tom to come. She hoped he came soon, preferably before her mother discovered Rachel's stuff was in bags. Then all hell would break loose, and it would not be pretty.

* * *

TOM

"Bill! You keep telling me the wrong directions!" Tom yelled at his brother as they came up to yet another dead end. The damn GPS thingy either wasn't working right or Bill couldn't read. Or Tom just couldn't distinguish right from left, but he refused to admit that could be a possibility.

Bill, of course, was not so disillusioned. "You keep turning the wrong way!" he yelled back, laughing. Tom could have happily wrung his baby brother's neck, but then he'd never find Rachel's house. He needed Bill to give him directions, even if Bill kept getting them wrong.

"I am not! You are a horrible direction-giver!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too, times infinity!"

"I hate you!"

"HA! I won!"

"Just because… Oh, by the way, take the next left." Tom but the right blinker on. "I said 'left', Tomi."

"This is left."

"That's your right, O Smart One."

"Oh." Tom switched blinkers and got in the left turn lane. "So, how much farther is it?"

"About ten minutes, according to this thing, but probably longer if you keep mixing up left and right."

"Whatever."

* * *

RACHEL

It had been around twenty minutes since she and Tom had talked. Assuming he was at the hotel right off the interstate, he should have been here by now. Unless he wasn't coming. That would be just her luck. Or maybe he was lost. That was possible, and a much happier thought than the idea of him forgetting her. She sat on her bed, her eyes locked on the road, hoping to see Tom's car soon. She couldn't keep hiding much longer.

* * *

TOM- 15 MINUES LATER

Finally, Tom and Bill found the right neighborhood. American streets were confusing, non-useful signs sprang up every which way, and the useful ones hidden by branches, bushes, or just plain not visible. However, after what felt like hours of arguing, searching, being blinded by the sun, and staring at signs, they'd found the right one. They thought.

Tom turned into the neighborhood, telling Bill to look for Rachel's house number. Bill did so, searching each house they passed by. Some time later, they came up to a small, white house with a screen door and dark green shutters. Bill announced that it was the right number. Tom pulled up to the curb, taking a deep breath. This was it. He was nervous as hell, but he knew it was right to be here. Rachel needed him, and he was just starting to realize that he needed her. He liked people leaning on him for support, and it was obvious that she needed support. To use Bill's words, they "completed each other." Bill's words, not his. He wasn't that romantic.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he studied the house, seeing a brief flicker in one of the upstairs windows. Rachel, probably, or her mother. Tom felt a sudden rush of nerves at the idea of facing Rachel's mother in person. Phone calls were one thing. Face-to-face was another.

Bill apparently knew his thoughts, as he gave Tom a hard push towards the car door. "Go, on, Tom. She's there; go get her." Tom took a deep, steadying breath, and stepped out of the car.

* * *

RACHEL

Finally. There it was. A large black SUV (not Tom's actual car, just a rental) drove slowly down the street. She could almost see Bill's lion mane through the windows as he stared at the mailboxes, trying to find her house. After a few agonizing minutes, the car stopped in front of her house, pulling up close to the curb.

Rachel took a deep breath and moved away from the window. Her mother would be wondering why such an expensive car was idling by their driveway. Trying to calm her nerves, Rachel picked up her duffle and tossed her other bag across her shoulders, heading towards the door. Before she'd gone two paces, though, it burst open, showing a furious Lauren, who, thank _Gott_, didn't notice the bags her daughter was carrying.

"What the hell is up with the car in the driveway."

"You're asking me like I'm gonna know?" Ever since Tom's return call, Rachel had been a little bit more rebellious. Her mother didn't like it, for obvious reasons, but she wasn't going to be dealing with it much longer. At that precise moment, the doorbell rang.

"Whatever this stunt is, it's not gonna work." Lauren turned sharply and walked quickly to the door, opening it to reveal Tom; then she realized that her daughter wasn't pulling a stunt. She meant to leave. Rachel slowly descended the stairs, waiting for her mother to start yelling. She didn't notice Tom's shock at her appearance. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Even prepared, Rachel still winced slightly at the volume as her mother turned back, her face as red as her shirt.

"Leaving."

"I won't let you."

Tom interjected before things could escalate. "You can't stop her."

Lauren turned on him, spit flying from her mouth as she screamed at him. "I'm her legal guardian; she can't leave without my, hear me, _my_ say-so."

"She's eighteen, woman. Far as I know, that's the legal age of adulthood here." He glanced up at Rachel. "Right?" Rachel barely managed a chin dip, but he saw it. "See? She's allowed to make her own choices."

Lauren glared at him, and if looks could kill, he would have been dead a thousand times over. "I don't care. She's not leaving."

Tom ignored her, stepping around her to go to Rachel. She watched him come closer, noticing the redness in his face and the way his eyes were smoldering. She figured he was just pissed at her mother. She was grateful to him, more so than she could ever say. Not only was he helping her, he was defending her against her own mother. Not even her father had done that, all those years ago.

He was next to her now, and the anger in his face was replaced with such tenderness that it made her want to cry. "Ready to go?" She nodded emphatically, and he swiftly took her duffle from her, swinging it over his shoulder like it was nothing.

"I'm not letting you take her," Rachel's mother snarled.

"I'm not letting you keep her." Tom snapped back, his arm snaking around Rachel's shoulders in support. "She wants to come with me, and I want her to come. And I don't' think either of us," he gave Rachel's shoulders a squeeze at that, "give a damn what you want."

Rachel's mother spluttered as Bill suddenly poked his head through the door. "Sorry. Tom, you were taking a long time. We almost ready to go?" Tom nodded.

"We're ready now." He passed Rachel's mother again, and she could sense the vibes coming off him. Rachel didn't look at her mother as they headed out the door, afraid of what she might see there. Just as they left the house, her mother came out after them.

"Seeing as how you're going to finally get out of my hair, take this back." She threw Rachel's MP3 at her. It bounced off her head and into Bill's palm. "I have no use for it." With that, she let the door slam shut, closing Rachel permanently out of her old life.

* * *

TOM

Tom tried to be nice to Rachel as he led her over to their rental, but it was harder than he would have thought. Daniel had said she was bruised, but he hadn't been expecting to see a black eye, bruised cheekbone, and half-healed cuts along her cheek. It was much worse than he'd pictured, and it was pissing him off.

Maybe if he'd been here sooner, she wouldn't have been hurt as bad. He cursed himself, calling himself ten kinds of idiot in as many languages as he knew how, for not being here for her when she'd most needed it. A hand landed on his shoulder: Bill's. Stupid twin telepathy. He probably knew every word that had been going through Tom's head.

"Wasn't your fault," he muttered in German, and for a moment, Tom had to wonder why he was bothering to speak now. Then he remembered: Bill didn't know Rachel was nearly fluent in their first language. Tom had neglected to mention that in their previous talks, and now Bill was embarrassing himself. Or so Tom thought.

Turns out Rachel wasn't really paying attention, having put her earbuds in as soon as Bill had handed it back to her. Now, he could hear their songs blasting through the headphones, and he had to wonder how she wasn't deaf yet.

As it was, he tried to tune everything else out and answer Bill's statement. "Doesn't matter if it was my fault or not. I still should have been here for her."

"And how would you have known she needed you now? She didn't call you till today."

Tom thought about that. It was logical. Logic sucked when one had a pity party going, but Bill was right. He couldn't have known, so it was just sheer bad luck that had caused this. His own bad luck probably, or hers. "Fine, you win." Ignoring Bill's triumphant smile, Tom threw Rachel's bag into the trunk of the rental and helped her into the back seat as Bill had already claimed shotgun. She smiled at him gratefully, and he grinned back.

It felt so right having her with him. He knew, somewhere inside, in a place he hadn't known existed, that she was the one for him. The only one for him. All his searching, all his one-night stands, all his longing, had been for her. And now she was coming home, with him, where she belonged.

**AN: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Chappy Ten done, wOOt!!!!!!!!!! *starts doing happy dance* I reached double digits, I reached double digits!!!!!!!!!! Oh, yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *stops dancing* Ok, I'm done being a spaz now…. Ok, so, y'all know the drill by now!!!!!!! Review, kindly!!!!!!!!!! And I may give you cookies…. If I feel like being nice…. Ok, then, I gotta go, so I will see y'all soon, **_**ja**_**?**

**This is TwinSwords signing off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	11. She's Staying HERE?

**AN: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, go me!!!!!!!!! ok, so yeah, I actually don't have much to say a the moment, except a giant DANKE SCHÖN to all my lovely reviewers, Mistress Fang, Ales IBKA, lpwriter4life, Tokio-Hotel-Cinema-Bizzare, Thnks Fr th Mrmrs you Humanoid, Ashes Mercy Tatum, FlareBlade, and Chibi!!!!!!!!! Love y'all, and thanks!!!!!!!!! Ok, now on to the story!!!!!!!!**

Previously: _All his searching, all his one-night stands, all his longing, had been for her. And now she was coming home, with him, where she belonged._

* * *

GEORG

"Hey, Bill!" Gustav yelled as he came back from talking to Tom.

"_Was_?" Bill answered.

"Tom wants you."

"Why?"

"Didn't say."

"Not helping."

"Just go." Georg snickered as Gustav irritably yanked the game controller back from Bill and booted him out of his chair.

"OW!"

"You'll be fine. Now get over there before Tom starts yelling again."

"BILL!"

"Too late." Georg tried to keep from laughing as Gustav went to smack Bill on the head. Bill tried to duck, failing miserably due to his greater height. "OW! I'm going; I'm going! Geez." In a huff, Bill headed to the front area to talk to Tom. Soon as he was gone, Georg turned to Gustav to begin the interrogating.

"So."

"I'm not gonna tell you what Tom wanted. Knowing him, you'll find out soon enough."

"Meanie."

"Don't give me that."

"You're still mean."

"Maybe, maybe not. I'm still not gonna tell." They turned back to the game at the same time, trying to ignore the low mumbles coming from the front of the bus. A few minutes later, they heard Bill start yelling.

"WHAT?" Georg barely managed to restrain laughter at the tone of Bill's voice. He so rarely took that tone with Tom; it was about time somebody did, in Georg's opinion. Seconds later, they heard him yell again. "_WAS DIE HOELE, TOM_?!" This time, even Gustav looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"Dammit, Bill, listen to me!"

"WHY WOULD YOU-"

He was cut off abruptly by Tom's angry voice. "Shut the hell up and listen to me!" Georg and Gustav paused the game and stared at each other. It had been a while since they'd heard the twins yell at each other like that. Luckily, though, the yelling match didn't last long.

Tom and Bill came out from the front a few minutes later, Tom sticking something in his back pocket. "We're going out for a little while. See you guys later." Before Georg or Gustav could answer the twins left the bus; they seemed to be in a little bit of a rush. Georg turned to Gustav again.

"What are they up to?"

"I have no clue."

"Yes, you do."

"Nope. No idea."

"Come on, Gusti, tell me!"

"No way, Hagen."

"Don't call me that!"

"Don't call me Gusti, then."

"I'll call you whatever the hell I want, Gusti."

"Then you're stuck with Hagen, Hobbit."

"Don't call me that, either!"

"Shut up." Gustav returned to the game, even though it wasn't' quite as fun with only two people. Georg sighed but started playing as well. But his patience didn't last long.

"You think it had something to do with that girl? Rachel?"

"Maybe."

"Come on, you must have some idea."

"You think Tom would tell me?"

"_Ja_."

"Well, he wouldn't."

"But did he?"

"Give up, already, I'm not gonna tell you!"

"A ha! You do know something!"

"No, I'm not telling because I have no idea what they're up to."

"Surely they told you something."

"Nope. Nothing."

"Come on!"

"Give up. Hagen." Gustav started to go back to Super Smash Bros, but apparently decided he was bored with that game. "Why don't we borrow Tom's racing games? I'm bored with this one."

Georg grinned happily. "Sounds good to me." Within moments, they had Tom's game in the Xbox, and were yelling at each other as they ran each other off the road.

An hour and many races that Georg lost, they heard the rental car come up to the bus.

"Finally, they're back. I can play someone who's worse than me!" Georg said happily. Gustav glanced out the window and whistled. "What?"

"Not sure they're gonna be playing games for a while. Or at least, not in Tom's case."

"He brought a 'distraction'?"

"Looks like it."

"Ugh! You mean I'm stuck losing?"

"Probably. Although I'm surprised he let Bill come with him if he's trying to…" Gustav trailed off as he studied the business going on outside. "Wait, I think I was wrong."

"Hmm?"

"What did that girl look like again? The one Tom seemed to like?"

"Ummm…. Long black hair, skinny, paler than Bill."

"Ok, then I was wrong."

"You were?"

"_Ja_, I was."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Hagen, that he brought her here."

"_Was_?"

"She's outside."

* * *

RACHEL

The ride back to the hotel had been quiet, for the most part. Tom seemed relieved, Bill concerned, and Rachel was just happy to be away from her family. She was concerned a little about Bill's attitude towards her. He seemed a little bit more reserved than she'd been hoping. Maybe only Tom wanted her to stay with them. If that were true, how would she handle it? Maybe she'd have to leave.

Panic stirred in her at the thought. She didn't want to leave Tom. Having him near gave her courage, and a sense of worth, feelings she'd long since forgotten. If the other guys made her leave him… things might go south, quickly. She sighed heavily, tugging her earbuds out of her ears and carefully winding them up as Tom parked the car. He hopped out and came around to open her door. Bill leaped out and ran full-speed into the bus. Tom started to follow him then stopped and glanced back at Rachel.

"You wanna wait out here for them, or go in now?"

"Wait." Tom nodded, coming to stand next to her. As they waited for Bill to bring the other members of the band out, Tom slipped a supporting arm around her shoulders yet again. "Do you think they'll…" she let her voice trail off as Tom turned to look at her.

"They'll what?"

"Like me?" she asked, her face heating up with shame.

"Pft. Of course they will." He squeezed her shoulders, but she could sense that he had a few misgivings himself. For some reason, he didn't want her to know about them. She wondered why, and what his misgivings were.

Moments later, the other members of the band came out. Georg was first, followed closely by Gustav. Bill bounced out a few seconds later.

Georg came up to Tom, laughing, and speaking very fast German. Rachel didn't quite catch what was said, but she got the gist of it. "So, are you gonna keep her or is she just for one night?" Tom's face went bright red and he briefly glanced at Rachel, who was giving him an odd look.

"Ignore him, he's an idiot."

"I am-" His eyes went from Rachel to Tom and back again as understanding dawned on his face. Rachel could almost see the light bulb going on over his head. He slowly turned to face her. "You speak German?"

Her face flushed with embarrassment and she fought the urge to hide behind Tom. "Yes," she answered quietly. Tom glanced down at her, no doubt wondering why she didn't say more.

"She's nearly fluent, and after only, what, three years?"

"Yes." Rachel ignored Georg's humiliated look and Bill's amazed one. "Tom, quit."

"Quit what?"

"Talking about that. Not important."

She felt him take a deep breath, like he was going to argue, but thought better of it. "Fine."

Georg stared at the two of them, still thoroughly embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I take it back." He paused, studying her face. "If I made you feel awkward."

"Fine."

"Anyway!" Bill interjected happily. "I'll introduce everyone!"

"Bill, I think she knows who we are. She is a fan."

"Wait, Tom, you brought a fan back here?"

Rachel let out a small gasp at Gustav's words and slid behind Tom; Tom gave Gustav an annoyed glower. "Yes, I did. And she's staying with us."

"What? Why?"

"Not telling right now."

"Why not, Tom?"

"Because."

"Tell."

"Nope."

Bill decided to interrupt again. "Anyway, Rachel." He took her hand and pulled her out from behind Tom, ignoring her feeble attempts to hide again. "The bitchy-man over there is Gustav."

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are," Tom and Georg told him at the same time.

"And that," he pointed to Georg, "is Georg. Guys, this is Rachel." Georg grinned at her, and Gustav just nodded. Both were trying not to stare.

"Hi…" she forced out, wishing Tom would let her hide again. She didn't feel right having all the guys staring at her like she was a zoo exhibit.

Tom apparently sensed this, as he came up behind her and pulled her away from Bill. "Let's go inside and do something else for a little while, ok, guys?" They all agreed, heading inside for games and more talk.

* * *

TOM

Why did they have to say that? Gustav was just being Gustav, but he didn't have to reveal his bitchiness so soon! And they were still staring, making Rachel uncomfortable. Idiots.

Once they got inside the bus, Tom led Rachel on a quick tour which ended with them sitting at the table-thingy by the window watching the others play racing games. They all tried to get Rachel to talk more, but she seemed to have shut down. Not as bad as before, but she didn't' give more than one or two-word answers, and that was only to direct questions. She didn't offer anything of her own. Finally, though, the guys got bored of games and announced they were tired. Rachel seemed slightly relieved. Apparently, three guys playing video games was hard for her to deal with. Tom was just proud that she hadn't fainted or had to walk out. He'd been waiting for either one ever since Georg's first comment

It was around eleven when they finally quit the games. Georg and Gustav dragged Bill up to the room to get ready for bed. Tom stalled for a few minutes, hoping for a little bit of private time with her.

"So…"

"Do you mind if I sleep in here?"

"Huh?"

"Don't wanna sleep up there with them."

"So you wanna sleep out here?"

"_Ja_." Her eyes searched his for a long moment, and he found he couldn't say no to her. "All right." Relief showed in her face and she smiled at him for the first time. His breath caught in his throat. She was beautiful, more so than he'd noticed before.

"_Danke_."

"Sure." Tom studied her face for a long time, wondering what he should say now. Finally, he decided that he was brain dead, and just settled for saying, "Good night."

She nodded once in response. "'Night." He left the bus quickly before he let his body off the hook. There was a lot he wanted from her, but he couldn't ask for any of it yet. He sighed and headed up to the hotel room.

* * *

A FEW HOURS LATER, STILL TOM

After tossing and turning for hours and hearing death threats from Bill, Tom gave up on sleeping in the hotel room. He felt bad for leaving Rachel by herself in the bus, so he decided to head down there. They could always sleep in the travelbeds, he thought, as long as she was agreeable. With a soft sigh, he got up and told Bill where he was going. Bill just groaned and told him to shut the hell up.

Tom left the room silently, heading quickly down to the bus. Once there, he just stood by the door listening. Rachel was singing again. He tilted his head, trying to figure out which song it was. "Rette Mich." He'd heard her sing "Rescue Me" before, but hadn't guessed she'd know the German version, too. Although, he had to wonder why he was surprised. She was nearly fluent, so why wouldn't she have the German versions memorized, too?

Realizing he was stalling, Tom stepped into the bus, calling to Rachel as he did. She turned sharply to look at him, and he was hit, once again, with her beauty. Even in pajamas- which were a cami and a pair of sweatpants- she looked incredibly sexy. And completely oblivious to that fact. He shook himself out of his reverie when he realized she was talking.

"What're you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Oh. But why are you down here?"

"Felt bad for leaving you alone."

"Even though that's what I wanted?"

"You just said you wanted to stay down here. You never mentioned that you needed to be alone."

"Fine."

"I'll go back up if you want."

"_Nein_! Stay, please." Her eyes widened and her face paled a little.

"OK, I'll stay, but we should probably try and get to sleep, okay?"

"All right." Grinning at her, he took her hand and brought her to the band's traveling bunks. He then gently pushed her down on Bill's before plopping down on his with a contented sigh. "Tired?"

"Sorta. Long day."

"Yeah."

"Sorry, yours was longer than mine."

"A little."

"Anyway, we should get to bed."

"Yeah."

"_Guten__nacht_, Rachel."

"… _Guten__nacht_, Tom."

Tom smiled when she said his name. Yes, this was right. This was where he wanted to be: near her, able to hear her and see her, his perfect other half.

**AN: wOOt, Chappy 11 done, yeah!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, it was a little bit shorter than I wanted, and it's a little bit of filler…. Btw, I may not be able to update for a little while, coz I need to figure out how to get from here to Girl #2, Bill's girl…. Don't worry, there'll be more Rachel and Tom before that, I just don't' want to have too much filler…. ^__^ coz I know how much y'all hate filler…. I know I do…. Oh, ja, plase review? Bitte? Bitte? Wanna know what y'all think!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Ok, I'll see you guys later!!!!!!!!**

**TwinSwords signing off!!!!!!!!!!**


	12. Getting Comfy

**AN: so, ja, here I am again!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry it took me so long, I've been busy…. Job search, stuff, school…. Blech…. Sucks… anywho, enough of my complaining, onto the story!!!!!!!!! And I'm sorry, this is gonna be a semi-time skip chapter, with a little bit of drama, and a lot of funny…. Basically, it's a filler chapter, but I hope y'all won't kill me for that… bitte don't kill me… S'NOT MY FAULT!!!!!!!!! OH, yeah, btw, Rachel and Tom don't remember the dream from "Shared Dream" yet…. They'll probably figure it out sometime soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT EXISTS IN REAL LIFE, BUT Y'ALL KNOW THAT I DO OWN THE SUMMERS, SO NO STEALING.**

Previously: _Yes, this was right. This was where he wanted to be: near her, able to hear her and see her, his perfect other half._

* * *

BILL

The next day started earlier than Bill wanted. Somebody- probably Georg- had left the shades open, letting the sun in; it ended up right in Bill's face With a groan, he rolled over, listening to Gustav doing whatever he did in the mornings in the next room.

Bill looked around the room, bored, unwilling to get out of bed yet. Tom's bed was messed up and Bill remembered hearing him rolling around for God knew how long the night before. Eventually, after Bill had threatened him, he'd gone quiet. But now, he was gone. Bill closed his eyes; Tom was probably just bugging Gustav or something like that.

'_Wait…_' He didn't hear Tom's voice from next door. Nor Georg's, for that matter. '_Uh-oh… that can't be good…_' He sat up, cursing. Where could Tom have disa- '_Oh, wait, that's where he… oh, Gott, Rachel's down there, too!_' Bill leaped out of bed, completely awake now. He rushed to the next room and poked his head in. Gustav was on the couch reading, and Georg was buried under a mountain of stuff on his bed.

"Hey, Gustav?" he asked softly, seeing as how Georg was still asleep.

"What the hell are you doing up so early?"

Bill ignored this pleasantry. "Come down to the bus with me?"

"Why?"

"Cause Tom went down there last night, and he and Rachel were alone all last night."

"You think they did something?"

"I wouldn't put it past Tom."

"Fine." Gustav got up from the couch after carefully marking his place and followed Bill out to the bus.

The bus was oddly clean, having been taken over by Tom and a girl the night before, giving Bill hope that Tom hadn't actually made Rachel do anything. Gustav went to the front and plopped down on the couch. "You go check upstairs."

"Oh, come on; don't make me go check alone!"

"Make me." Bill immediately came over and more or less yanked Gustav to his feet.

"Come on, help me out here!"

"Fine." Gustav followed Bill to the part of the bus that they slept in when they were travelling, expecting to see the mess there, but… there was nothing.

Except for a pile of something towards the wall. Bill slowly approached it, scared of what he might see.

Whatever he'd expected, it wasn't what he saw.

Tom was on the floor, his blanket wrapped around his legs in a way that could not be comfortable. Curled up next to him, her back to his chest, was Rachel. Tom's arm was draped around her waist, and her long black braid had somehow ended up thrown over her shoulder and his back. Bill snuck forward, and stared down at them, amazed. One of Rachel's hands was curled up to her chest; the other lay in Tom's larger palm. Bill took the time then to study his twin's face.

Tom looked relaxed, more so than Bill had seen him in a long time. He was smiling in his sleep, something Bill had never seen him do; Rachel's face was free of the tension he'd always seen in it, allowing him to see what Tom saw in her. She really was pretty, beautiful, even. Bill sighed, turning back to Gustav.

"Satisfied?"

"_Ja_."

"Weren't expecting that, were you?"

"_Nein_, I wasn't." Bill glanced back at his twin and the oh-so-obvious-to-everyone-but-her object of his affection. "He's never surprised me like this before."

"Same with all of us, I think. Tom's normally the easy one to figure out."

"Don't start that."

"Don't tell me that; I'm not Georg." Bill stared at his bandmate for a moment then burst out laughing. "_Was_?"

"'I'm not Georg.' You're so mean!" Still laughing, Bill took off, sprinting out of the bus, hoping he hadn't woken Tom or Rachel with his noise. And that he could get far enough away from Gustav before he-

"HEY! Bill!" Too late. Bill poured on the speed, heading for the hotel room and Georg's protection.

* * *

TOM

Laughter. Bill's laugh. What the hell? Tom shifted slightly, telling Bill to shut the hell up. The laughter faded, and Tom slowly drifted back to sleep.

A few hours later, Tom woke for real. Groaning, he tried to sit up, only to be stopped by some weight against his arm. He looked down and saw a head of dark hair against his chest. '_Bill_?' Why the hell was Bill sleeping next to him? On the bus? On the floor? Oh, they were never going to hear the end of this from Georg if he ever found out. Unless Bill had had a bad dream the night before; that wasn't unusual. But… why would he be…

A soft moan brought Tom's attention back to reality. Female. Not Bill.

'Was die hoelle?' He slowly returned his attention to the figure sleeping next to him. He hadn't brought a girl back last night, nor had he been drinking. Or at least, he hadn't thought he had. The girl next to him moaned again, and Tom tried to ignore it, still attempting to figure out who she was.

Black hair, pale… if he didn't know this person was female, he would still think it was Bill. Wait… A long, black braid was slung across his back. He rarely picked girls with hair that long… but there was one girl he'd chosen, not for his normal reasons, that had long black hair…

Rachel.

That was what had happened, Tom reminded himself. She had come back with him, and stayed in the bus… and he hadn't been able to sleep, so he'd come down to stay with her. Right. Not Bill, not some strange girl that he didn't know and would never see again. Rachel, the girl he… no, he couldn't yet. He barely knew her, for crying out loud. There was _no way_ he could be in love with her yet. But, what about that dream? The one about the girl in the club? Rachel was almost identical to that girl… could they be the same?

No. That wasn't possible. Bill was the one who believed in that nonsense., not Tom. It was inconsiderable. Impossible.

Tom sighed. This was getting him nowhere fast. Tom slowly got up, trying not to disturb Rachel, and failed.

She stirred and rolled over to look up at him.

"_Guten morgen_, Tom."

"Hi. Sorry, I was trying not to wake you."

"You're fine, I was getting up anyway."

"Still."

"Stop fussing."

"Eh?"

"You're fussing. Stop it. It's fine."

"But…"

"Stop, Tom. I was getting up, and your acting all gallant, however much I may appreciate it, is annoying."

"You mean…"

"I swear, Tom, if you go on about that any more I swear-" She stopped suddenly, her eyes flying to the door. A light blush rose up her cheeks; Tom whirled around to see why.

Georg was standing next to the ladder, his eyes wide with shock. "So, did you two…" he was cut off abruptly by a pillow that Tom threw in his face.

"No, we did not, and get your brain out of the gutter!"

"Look who's talking, Perv."

"Shut up, Hagen."

"Why does everyone call me that!" Georg complained, glaring at Tom, who was grinning evilly at him.

"Because you react so funnily."

"That's not a word."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not."

"Yes it is."

"Will you two shut up?" Bill yelled from downstairs. "It's getting annoying! And, Tom, get your ass down here, I need to talk to you!" Tom sighed, glancing back down at Rachel.

"I'll be fine. Go," she whispered, meeting his gaze firmly for the first time. When Tom hesitated, she gave him a slight push. "Go on, before Bill has to drag you down, and you know he'll do it."

"_Ja_, _ja_. I'm going." Grumbling under his breath about annoying twins, Tom got up to go see what Bill wanted, leaving Rachel alone with Georg.

* * *

RACHEL

After Tom left, Rachel climbed back onto Bill's bed and tried to see if any more sleep was possible. Apparently it wasn't, as Georg plopped down on his bed and tried to start a conversation with her.

"So." He waited for a second, like he was waiting for a response. Rachel tried to answer, but something in her kept her from giving any information. After a minute, Georg continued as though the pause had never happened. "How old are you?" She slowly sat up and held up ten fingers then put two down. Georg looked confused, so she did it again. "Just tell me, cause I'm not following you." Rachel shook her head and did the finger thing again. This time, he watched closely and the light bulb went on. "Eighteen?" Rachel nodded, and Georg studied her, probably wondering why she didn't speak. "OK, ummm…. Favorite color?" She picked up the sleeve of her T-shirt from yesterday. "Orange?" She shook her head. "You have more than one?" She nodded. "Umm…" he studied the shirt. "Orange and black?" Rachel nodded. "All righty then, new question…" Rachel shook her head. No more questions. Eventually, he'd start asking questions that required spoken answers. She wasn't comfortable speaking around him. Or Gustav for that matter. Only Tom. She trusted Tom, but she wasn't sure she could trust these others. Georg studied her for a minute. "You don't like to talk, do you?" She shook her head, letting her bangs fall in front of her eyes so he wouldn't see the blush that rose in her face.

Tom had asked that same question just a few days ago. She didn't like to talk. Nothing she had to say was worth listening to. Or at least, that's what she'd always been told. Not in words, but in actions. Her teachers had ignored her when her hand went up; kids in school acted like she wasn't there; her mother and sister wished she didn't exist. Her father, the one that had always told her she was worth something, had left her with a broken promise. If she was worth anything, she wouldn't have been ignored and unloved all her life. If she was worth anything, she wouldn't be so scared now. She sighed, and Georg heard.

"Are you all right?" He came over to kneel in front of her. She hid her face, and he leaned back. "Do you want me to go get Tom?" She nodded, fully expecting him to leave her alone, now that she'd revealed how addicted to him she was. She needed him, but… no one else could know. No one else… Georg left quickly, and she heard indistinct voices coming from the lower level of the bus. Rachel forced herself to breath evenly as sweat broke out on her face in a delayed reaction from Georg's well-intended interrogations. Her hands started to shake, and her vision faded in and out. A voice in her head cried out for Tom, her anchor to reality, the one that made her feel like she was there, like she existed.

* * *

TOM

"… And Tom, get your ass down here; I need to talk to you!" Tom sighed irritably, glancing back down at Rachel.

"I'll be fine. Go," she whispered, meeting his gaze firmly for the first time. He hesitated, his breath catching at the intensity of her full gaze. She nudged him. "Go on, before Bill has to drag you down, and you know he'll do it."

Ulp. Bill would. "_Ja_, _ja_. I'm going." Grumbling under his breath about annoying twins and threats, Tom got up to go see what Bill wanted, leaving Rachel alone with Georg. "Bill, what do you want?"

"What were you and Rachel doing last night?"

"Ummm. We talked."

"And after that?"

"What's with the interrogation, Bill?"

"Just tell me. I'm curious."

"Curiosity and the cat."

"Just answer the question, Tomi."

"Fine," Tom grumbled, but didn't go any further. After a minute, Bill got annoyed.

"Come on, Tomi, tell me!" He pulled the sad face treatment, something Tom could not say no to, no matter how hard he tried.

"We went to bed. She slept in yours, and I was in mine. Apparently, we both fell out at some point and ended up, well-"

"I saw."

"So I did hear you this morning! I thought I was dreaming!"

"Nope. So that's it? Nothing else?"

"Not with Rachel. Never with Rachel, not unless she asks."

"You think she would? Ask, I mean?" Bill looked concerned; he did have good reason to, considering Tom's track record. It wasn't good. Nowhere near. Oh, well, too late to be thinking about that now.

"Not right now. Probably not for a long time." Tom looked back up at the ceiling where Rachel was. He couldn't force her. She was to precious for that.

"You could wait that long?"

"For her? I could wait forever."

"Wow, that's-"

"Hey, Tom?" Georg's voice interrupted them, for which Tom was grateful.

"_Was_, Hagen?"

"Stop it with the middle-name-using, dammit! And Rachel wanted you." He thought for a moment. "Actually, 'needed' might be a better word."

"What d'you mean?"

Georg sighed. "I'm not really sure. She was getting a little pale…" he trailed off as Tom tore off to the upper level. Tom barely heard him say, "That was fast," to Bill, but he ignored it.

Rachel needed him. She needed him to be with her.

Whatever she needed, he was willing to give.

**AN: so it's a little shorter than I wanted, but, hey, it's there… and it wasn't as much filler as I was afraid of…. It was filler, but not too bad, I hope…. Sadly, I'll need a couple more filler chappies, so bear with me, my loyal, much-loved readers!!!!!!!!**

**Speaking of, bitte reiew!!!!!!!!!! I need to know what you think, despite the filler-ness!!!!!!!!!!! Bitte, bitte, review!!!!!!**

**Love y'all!!!!!**

**TwinSwords saying seeya later!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	13. He Likes Me, He Likes Me Not

**AN: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M BAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, ja, and I'm so tired right now, I've gone loopier than a cat on catnip!!!!!!!! (which isn't exactly unusual for me, hehehehe…) ok, before I scare y'all away with my insanity, on with the disclaimer and the story!!!!!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL, MUCH AS I WISH I DID, OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT EXISTS IN REAL LIFE. I DO, AS Y'ALL KNOW, OWN THE SUMMERS FAMILY. STEAL AND DIE.**

Previously: _Rachel needed him. She needed him to be with her. Whatever she needed, he was willing to give._

* * *

RACHEL

Rachel's heart was pounding, her breath came in short gasps; she was almost hyperventilating. Sweat poured down her face, and her entire body was shaking harder than a leaf in a hurricane. Fear filled her. Fear of what, she couldn't tell. Being alone, her lack of value, the smallness of the bus… all of it was adding to her fear. She wanted to be left alone, but being alone terrified her. She wanted to be noticed, but being noticed made her want to run and hide. A couple tears leaked from her eyes.

"What is wrong with me?" she asked aloud, believing she was alone. "What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing is wrong with you." Tom's voice startled her out of her panic. "Don't ever think that," he whispered, his arms sliding around her again.

"Then why can I not make up my mind?" she whispered, burying her face in his chest, her voice filled with pain.

"We all have that problem."

"No, mine's different. I want to be left alone, but when I'm alone, I'm terrified. I want people to see me, but when they do, I just want to run and hide. What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing. Nothing can ever be wrong with you."

"Then why-" Tom's finger on her mouth stopped her voice.

"You're perfect how you are. The why's don't matter. I saw you, and you mattered to me. You still matter, and you will always matter." He moved his hand from her mouth to her cheek, cupping it in his palm. "If you want to hide, you can hide behind me. When you want me to go away, I'll go. When you want me to stay, I'll stay right beside you." Her eyes closed, and she tried to believe he meant what he was saying.

"Do you really mean that?"

"I would never lie to you."

"Does that mean you mean it?"

"_Ja_, that means I mean it." She leaned her head into his hand, an unfamiliar feeling of calm coming over. The same calm she felt in her dream. When that strange person saved her. The one whose face she never saw.

But there was that other… the one where she saw his face… who was it? Why couldn't she remember? Maybe Tom… no, better not to mention it. He'd think she was nuts, or clingy. She didn't want him to think that of her.

But apparently, he noticed.

"What're you thinking about, Rachel?"

"Nothing."

"Uh-uh. That's not gonna work on me. I live with Bill, remember?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about."

"It seemed to have you pretty preoccupied. And I'm curious by nature. What was it?" He mirrored Bill's puppy dog face, and while he wasn't quite as good at it as his twin, he was plenty good.

"Ugh, fine. See, I had this dream… I was floating, drifting… there were hands grabbing at me, and noise… yelling, white noise, all of it… I was scared, so scared…" her voice trailed off. Tom gently stroked her face, giving her courage. "Then, I bumped against this guy, and he held me, kind of like you did, that first time, and he made all the bad things go away. After that, he put me down, and I saw the moon, and the night sky, and it calmed me down. Then he took my hand again, and I woke up." She paused, relishing in the feel of his hand on her face. "The way that guy in my dream made me feel… I feel the same way when I'm around you. I don't feel like I have to be afraid… I feel like I mean something. Even if I'm not sure if you mean everything you tell me, I feel… like someone wants me. Like you might actually care enough to stay." She closed her eyes, hoping she hadn't scared him off. She'd admitted the one thing she'd wanted to hide from Tom. Maybe he'd leave now that he knew. Now that he knew how much she depended on him. Tom hated people clinging to him. Or at least, she thought he did.

His arms tightened around her, pulling her against his chest. "Oh, Rachel… if only you knew." He sighed, and she again wondered what was going on behind his eyes. "Let me tell you a story. It's kind of like yours, only a little different."

* * *

TOM

Good God, they'd had nearly the same dream! Granted, different places, but quite possibly the same characters. How was that possible? Tom thought for a moment. If only she knew… Maybe he'd tell her his dream. Maybe it'd make them both feel better.

Should he tell her now? His feelings? The fact that he might have fallen in love after only a few days? H sighed. No, he decided. Not yet. He didn't even know for sure himself yet. He didn't want to scare her away by telling her too soon. She wouldn't believe him, not yet. She didn't feel she was worth someone loving her. He'd wait, and try and get her self-esteem up to where it should be before he told her.

"Let me tell you a story." She leaned back and looked up at him. "It's kind of like yours, only a little different."

"All right." She studied him for a minute. "You look uncomfortable. Get comfy first." He grinned at her. She would think of someone else first.

"Fine." He sat back against the wall of the bus and pulled her into his lap, her back to his chest again. "Better?"

"Much." His grin broadened into a smile. She sounded content. Not happy, necessarily, but content. He could live with that for the moment.

"OK, then, here's my story." He took a deep breath and plunged in. "I'm in this club, a German one, I think. But, anyway, I'm wandering around, looking for a girl to dance with. Not just any girl, though: the right girl. There were a lot to choose from, different ages and different looks, all what I'd… normally 'go for'." He cleared his throat, embarrassed. Rachel's hand covered his, whether in support or understanding was impossible to tell. Whatever the reason, it pushed him past embarrassment. "But I didn't go for any of them. I knew they weren't the right one, the one that would be perfect. Then I saw this girl. I had this dream a lot, and I remembered her. I called her my Shadow Woman, since her face was always in shadow; I never saw it. Even though I didn't see her, I knew she was the one. We danced, and it felt right, the same way I felt when I was with you that first time. When I said it felt right having you there. But I also felt peaceful, in a way that I haven't since we started the band. And I feel that way with you, too. At peace, comfortable, like I've known you my whole life." She started trembling, and he stopped talking. "Rachel?"

A soft sob was his only answer. "Rachel? Are you alright?" Her head moved in a nod, but he wasn't sure he believed her. "Are you sure?"

"Happy."

"_Was_?"

"I've wanted to hear that. For a long time, whenever I imagined us meeting, I'd imagine you telling me that. Then I'd tell myself to stop dreaming, that it could never happen to me, because you wouldn't care about some random girl who was in-" she stopped.

"In?"

"No. That wasn't right, I can't be…"

"Can't be what?"

"Did you ever have another dream?"

"_Was_?"

"Did you ever have another dream? With that girl? The one in the club?"

"Ummm… there was one, but I can't remember specifically… In fact, I'd forgotten it until now."

"Me, too."

"You had one, too? A different one?"

"_Ja_."

"What was it? Maybe it was the same one, or similar."

"All right? I was standing at the bottom of this hill, and it was nighttime. I was happy, and I was laughing. Someone laughed behind me. I turned and I saw this boy… He looked familiar, and I finally recognized him as the boy from my other dream. I wanted to thank him for what he'd done for me all those other times, even though he wasn't real. Or I thought he wasn't real. When I got to him, I saw his face." She twisted around and placed her shaking hand on Tom's face. "He was you!" A small smile lit her face. "I remember now! He was you, and you recognized me! You told me to call you! And I promised you I would, but when I woke up, I didn't remember."

"I had almost that exact same dream!"

"You did?"

"_Ja_, I did. I was at the top of that hill, and you came running up to me. I saw your face and I recognized you as the girl from my other dream first, then I saw you were, well, you. I had forgotten, too… Huh, weird."

"Yeah… So we're not crazy?"

"_Nein_, I don't think so."

"Good, cause-"

"HEY! You talk to him, why not me?" Georg's voice was a jarring return to reality for both Tom and Rachel. Tom glared at the bassist as Rachel's face went several shades paler than normal and turned to hide her face in his shirt. "Oops, sorry, didn't mean to scare you!" he laughed.

"Georg, who gave you caffeine?"

"Gustav!" he announced happily.

From downstairs, Tom heard Gustav yell, "I did not! He found Bill's stash!"

"Not my fault!" Bill yelled back.

"BILL! Learn to hide your stuff better!" Tom shouted around Georg.

"Not my fault!"

"Yes, it is!"

"Why?"

"Because you can't hide your stash well enough! A blind, dead person could find it!"

"Why are they dead?"

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!" Tom and Gustav both roared at him.

"AHHHHHHHHH! They're gonna kill me, help!" Bill's voice faded as the door of the bus slammed. There was silence for a minute before Georg burst out laughing. After a minute, Tom did, too; Gustav joined them.

"Holy crap," the drummer said as he climbed up the ladder, still chuckling. "I've never seen Bill so scared, and we weren't even gonna do anything!"

"Oh, who said we weren't?"

"Come on, Tom, don't be mean."

"Why not; it's fun." Rachel started shaking, and Tom immediately looked down at her, confused. She flashed a grin up at him, and he grinned back, relieved. She was laughing. Actually laughing. Things were looking up.

* * *

COUPLE WEEKS LATER, STILL TOM

Things were still looking up a few weeks later. Rachel learned to laugh more, and she was able to talk around more than two people, even if she still didn't talk when Tom wasn't in the room. But, hey, progress was progress, and Tom wasn't going to push her too far; he didn't want to risk a backlash.

Today, though, they had a problem. They were in Little Rock, Arkansas, getting ready for an interview. Rachel had firmly stated the night before that she didn't want to go, and Tom didn't want the media to think they were dating quite yet; in fact, he didn't want the media to find out that he even liked her for a while yet. They scared normal people, let alone Rachel. One time, he'd been dating this one girl, and the media blew it completely out of proportion. Two days after, she'd broken up with him, saying she was scared of what people would think. He didn't want Rachel to have to worry about that yet. Girl had enough on her plate as it was.

So now, they were getting ready to leave, and Rachel was staying back in the hotel. Tom pulled her aside as the other three raced for the elevator, Bill screaming something about being late in a weird mix of English, German, and French. Strange kid… sometimes Tom wondered how they were related, let alone twins, he really did.

Either way, he needed to concentrate on Rachel, not Bill. "So, the interview's gonna be live on-"

"MTV, I know, you've only told me five billion times in two days, Tomi." That was another thing: Rachel had started using their nicknames. Gustav was Gusti; Georg was Hagen; Bill was Billa or Billi; and Tom was Tomi. Tom grinned at her.

"Sorry. But, I have to ask, cause Bill would've lost it by now, do you have that phone I gave you?"

"Yes, and why did you get me a phone? I don't need one."

"Yes, you do. And I didn't 'get you a phone,'" he used air quotes around the "get phone" part, "I gave you one of my old ones."

"Still, I don't need a phone."

"Yes, you do. And stop changing the subject."

"Yes, I have it."

"_Danke_."

"You're welcome."

"Ok, and my-"

"Tom, if you don't stop wasting your time telling me things I already know, Bill's going to come back in here and drag you out while screaming in your ear until you go deaf."

"Good point… Talk to you later!" he yelled, taking off out the door just as Bill was about to come back in.

"Come on, Tom! We're gonna be late!"

"No, we're not; calm down." Tom guided his spazzing brother towards the elevator that was being held open by the G's. "We'll be fine."

"NO, WE WON'T!"

"STOP SHOUTING!"

"NEVER!"

Georg clamped a hand over Bill's mouth, effectively stopping the screaming. Until Bill licked his hand. "EW! You licked me! Gross!"

"Do I need to remind everyone, again, that we are eighteen and twenty years old?" Gustav grumbled, glaring at Bill and Georg.

"No kidding."

"You were yelling, too, Tom."

"Yeah, but I wasn't the one that licked Georg's hand."

"True, that."

"Damn right it is."

The elevator door _ding_ed, and the four of them bolted towards the door, ignoring the shocked looks they got from people around them.

They were going to be late, if they didn't run. So they ran.

* * *

RACHEL

"Wow…" Rachel murmured out loud as the last of the guy's screaming match faded away. "How much more immature can they get?" She chuckled, relishing in her ability to do so. Only a few weeks ago, she would have been terrified to laugh, scared to smile, even. She sighed, pushing memories of her old life away. She had Tom now; he was her anchor, even if he could never feel the same way she did.

Oh, well, at least he was content to be her friend, for as long as he stuck around. All the things he said to her, all the things about her mattering to him, she wasn't sure he meant. Her father had said the same things, and look where that got her. Again, old memories. She bonked herself on the forehead, knocking the thoughts away. Tom had said the interview would start at twelve, and it was five till right now. Rachel plopped down in front of the TV, turned it on, and surfed until she found MTV.

"After this next break, we'll have Tokio Hotel live, for an exclusive interview! You still have a few minutes to send in your questions, so make use of it! Email or text any questions to 868-720-1MTV or now!" The interviewer's voice faded out as a block of commercials set in. Rachel sat back and smiled, pulling Tom's old phone out of her back pocket.

Rae: _going on soon, huh? nervous?_

Tom: _nah, we've done this a million times! 'sides, nothing makes me nervous!"_

Rae: _except asking girls out_

Tom: _who told you that?_

Rae: _ Bill._

Tom: _what, that little… *smacks bill* ok, i feel better now…_

Rae: _oi… you are so weird, tomi…_

Tom: _ah, but that's why everyone loves me! and i told you you needed a phone!_

Rae: _I do NOT need a phone. Just happened to make good use of this one!_

Tom: _continue this later. going on now…_

"And here we are with Tokio Hotel!" Rachel turned up the volume and sat back, the phone in her lap. Tom and Bill raced each other onto the stage, and Tom nearly fell on his face when he tried to stop and failed. Bill sat on the couch first, grinning like an idiot, and proceeded to make fun of Tom for being clumsy.

Rachel laughed. Tom was such a strange person, but he was right. That was why everyone, herself included, loved him… wait, did she love him? Was that even possible?

More importantly, could she trust him enough to love him?

This was useless, and frightening. Better to focus on Tom being Tom in the interview. The questions were all pretty much normal. How did they like the States; how were their concerts going? Stuff like that. It went on for a while, Rachel didn't really pay attention until it came to the fan-asked questions. She was too busy texting Tom whenever he wasn't answering to care.

"And, finally, some of your fans sent in questions, and we'd like to ask some of htem now."

"Go ahead!" Bill exclaimed happily. He was really enjoying this. Tom looked interested, but considering he'd spent the last thirty minutes texting Rachel on and off, that was hard to judge.

"From Jessica. I know at least some of you can't cook, but how often to you burn stuff?"

Tom and Bill burst out laughing as Gustav leaned away a little. "Every time."

"Really?"

"Yup. Oh, _ja_, remember that time Tom set the spaghetti on fire?"

"That was once, and it was a long time ago!"

"You set spaghetti on fire? How?"

"Not sure. Next question!" Tom's face was beet red, and he was sending Bill death glares. The interviewer laughed.

"All right, to spare Tom further humiliation." The interview went on from there, until finally, towards the end, the constantly asked "relationship question".

"Do any of you guys have girlfriends?" Bill, Georg, and Gustav all shook their heads. Tom shrugged. The interviewer noticed. "What does the shrug mean, Tom?"

Tom's face again rivaled a tomato as he realized he'd been called out. Bill started poking him, grinning, and Georg pointed and laughed at him. Tom sighed. "There's a girl I like, but I'm not entirely sure if I should ask her out or not." Rachel's shoulders slumped. It couldn't be her. No way. He had his eyes on another girl, and he just wanted to be friends. She sighed, forcing herself to listen to the rest of the interview.

"Why not?"

"Because she's got a lot to deal with right now, and I don't want to add to her problems."

"Does she like you back?" Tom shrugged. The woman turned to the others, asking, "Do any of you know who it is?" All three nodded. "Does she like him?"

"Considering that she won't speak unless he's in the room, I'd say yes," Georg said, earning a slap on the head from Tom. Bill and Gustav nodded in agreement with Georg's statement, earning glares.

"Tom, if what Georg said is true, you should probably just ask her. She'd probably say yes."

Wait, had she heard right? Rachel rewound it back to Georg's comment. "She won't speak unless he's in the room, yes…" He was talking about her! She knew it! She was the only girl they all knew that was that painfully shy… unless… no, Georg had to be talking about her! Rachel crossed her fingers and hoped, ignoring the rest of the interview. '_Tom likes me… Tom doesn't like me… He likes me! He can't like me…_'

"What's this girl's name, Tom?"

"Not giving that away."

"Come on, just a little hint?"

"Oh, fine. Her initials are R.S."

Rachel's heart stopped. He was talking about her!

He _did_ like her!

**AN: Ok, I lied, this wasn't as much filler as I'd been scared of… maybe I won't need filler chapters… I WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok, now that I'm done spazzing… I may only have one more Tom-Rachel centric chapter for now, cause I need to get on to Bill-Nyck… but don't' worry, there'll be more Tom-Rachel later, after I get through introducing the other girls!!!!!!! (and I'm gonna have fun with some of them, aka Georg and his girl, amy… must not give anything away…. Somebody stop me before I start giving spoilers!!!!!!**

**That little green button wants a click, and TwinSwords wants to be made happy, so REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!**

**DANKE SCHON!!!!!!!!**


	14. Beginnings and Endings

**AN: I'm back yet again with more awesomeness!!!!!!!!! (or at least it is to me, not sure bout y'all… anyway) too lazy to bother with a long AN this time, so bye-bye!!! Actually that 's a lie! This is half Tom and Rachel and half introduction to the awesomeness that is Nyck! (aka, bill's girl) Nyck is awesome… and she and bill are polar opposites… it's gonna be fun to write… *cackles evilly* ok NOW I'm done.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT EXISTS IN REAL LIFE. I DO HOWEVER, OWN RACHEL SUMMERS AND NYCK ALLMAN. THEY ARE MINE AND YOU WILL REGRET IT IF YOU STEAL THEM.**

Previously: _Rachel's heart stopped. He was talking about her! He _did _like her!_

* * *

RACHEL

The interview ended shortly after that, but Rachel barely registered. He had to be talking about her; she didn't know anyone else he might like that had those initials and fit the other description. The one about a lot of stuff going on… Rachel briefly wondered how much of what had really happened in her life she should tell him, and whether he would still accept her or even pretend to like her if he did find out.

All he knew about her was her name, age, and a very simple idea of what her life had been like. And that was enough for him to be concerned about adding to her load. If she told him about the rest… the years of hate and mental abuse from her mother, the physical bullying from her sister and her friends both at school and at home, her father leaving her with no word… she couldn't tell him. If he knew about that, he'd walk away. No one, even someone who claimed to like her, would want someone as broken and needy as she was. She knew how much she needed Tom, and she knew how little he needed her.

He didn't need her at all.

There were hundreds of girls that were more worthy of his attention. Rachel sighed, annoyed at herself. She'd just found out he might actually, honestly like her, and here she was justifying the reasons why he shouldn't. She'd been around him long enough to know that she was worth something, but… she still didn't feel worthy of him. She was carrying too much; he deserved someone who would take less fixing.

The phone he'd made her take earlier vibrated against her leg. She opened it and glanced at the screen. _One new message_. Tomi. With a small smile, Rachel opened the message.

Tom: _hey, rae. were u watching?_

Rae: _don't call me rae unless you want me to hurt you. and yes, I was._

Tom: _ so you heard what I said?_

Rae: _ja, I heard. not sure I believe but I heard…_

Tom: _you should believe it, cause its true_

Rae: _ok, sure._

Tom: _don't be like that!_

Rae: _why not?_

Tom: _it makes me nervous… reminds me of how you were before_

Rachel sighed. If only he knew.

Rae: _you worry too much, worrywart_

Tom: _bill's the worrywart not me_

Rae: _suuuuuuuuure_

Tom: _it's true!_

Rae: _again, suuuuuuuuure_

Tom: _ur mean!_

Rae: _get used to it._

Tom: _to think this is what I wanted before… now I'm scared_

Rachel burst out laughing. Tom, scared of her. Now that was a funny picture. She held up one of her arms and flexed, searching for any sign of muscle. Nope. No muscle.

Rae: _if ur scared of a weakling like me, that's sad…_

Tom: _is not! u'd be scary to get angry…_

Rae: _who said anything about being angry?_

Tom: _ummm…. I have no idea_

Rae: _hahahahahahaha_

Tom: _don't laugh!_

Rae: _... hahahahahahahaha!_

Tom: _Meanie. Anyway, what'd you think? y/y?_

Rae: _y/y to what?_

Tom: _what I said in the interview_

Rae: _about u liking someone with the initials rs?_

Tom: _ja. That._

Rae: _not telling._

Tom: _what, why not?_

Rae: _cause u've made me mean, remember?_

Tom: _oh, ja… dammit…_

Rae: _hahahahaha!_

Tom: _what is it with u and laughing at me?_

Rae: _cause ur fun to laugh at_

Tom: _…_

Rae: _don't be mad!_

Tom: _ur not the only one who can be mean!_

Rae: _ok, then, when r u getting back?_

Tom: _why, miss me already?_

Rachel smiled grimly. She'd missed him since before he walked out the door, but he didn't need to know that.

Rae: _course not. mean, remember._

Tom: _pbbbbbbbbbt._

Rae: _forgotten our age again have we?_

Tom: _NEIN!_

Rae: _ja._

Tom: _NEIN!_

Rae: _ja._

Tom: _NEIN!_

Rae: _ja._

Tom: _NEIN!_

Rae: _this is getting us nowhere slowly… i gotta shower, i'll see u when u get back!_

Rachel smiled as she snapped the phone shut. It vibrated again with Tom's response but she ignored it. He'd be back soon, and in the meantime, she really did have to shower.

* * *

TOM

Tom stared at his phone, ignoring the others as they all argued over something stupid, like Bill eating Georg's cookies, or some such nonsense. Rachel really did seem to be getting better, but he couldn't help but worry. There were times where he had right to worry; but… maybe this wasn't one of those times? Maybe… '_Come on, Tom, stop fussing. She's fine… or at least, she'd better be_.' He sighed, irritated with himself. He was getting to be like his mother, worrying about every little thing when there was nothing to worry about. Rachel was right, he was a worrywart.

"…Tom?" Bill's voice interrupted his reverie. "Earth to Tom! Are you alive in there?" Bill banged him on the head as he spoke. "Respond please!"

"What do you want, Billa?"

"Don't call me that. And we're here."

"We are?" Tom glanced out the window, surprised. They were.

"Yup. We are." Thank you, Bill, for stating the obvious. Tom smacked his brother on the head and hopped out of the car, ignoring Bill's indignant squeak. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Stating the obvious."

"Huh?"

"Exactly." Tom smirked and headed upstairs to his and Rachel's suite. Yes, they shared a suite: he had one of the rooms, and she stayed in the other… or at least, that was how it was supposed to work, but one of them usually ended up going to the other's room because they couldn't sleep. After that, they'd generally end up in the same bed. So there really wasn't much point to the suite but hey, at least his way they got some privacy. Tom grinned. If only Rachel wasn't so shy, they could put that privacy to good use. He sighed: she was shy, and he wasn't going to pressure her.

He liked her too much to lose her over something so stupid.

Speaking of, Tom looked around the rooms, trying to find her. It took him a minute before he remembered she'd said she was going to take a shower. Now that he thought about it, he could hear said shower running and had to wonder how he hadn't noticed before. And he called Georg unobservant. With a sigh, Tom plopped down in front of the TV, which Rachel had conveniently forgotten to turn off, because he didn't feel like digging around for the remote. Hopefully, Rachel'd be out of the shower soon so he could ask her what he'd been meaning to since he'd met her, and only just worked up the courage to do it.

* * *

RACHEL

After one of the longest showers Rachel had ever taken, she climbed out, dried off and dressed. Today's outfit was simple, she'd decided: a black tank top and dark orange cargo pants with her black and orange skater shoes. Around her neck, as always, was the tiger eye necklace from her father. She may have refused to forgive him for walking off and leaving her, but the necklace was one of the few things she had left of him, so she kept it.

Fully dressed, Rachel came out of her room to see Tom sitting on the couch watching TV. She bit back a small gasp of surprise; she hadn't been expecting them back so soon. Then she smiled at her own stupidity. Of course they'd be back fast the interview had ended over an hour ago. If anything, she should be wondering why they hadn't gotten back sooner.

After a while, Tom noticed her standing there and hopped up with a grin.

"_Hallo_!"

"Hey, Tom. What took you so long?"

"What're you talking about? I've been waiting for almost," he checked his watch, "thirty minutes."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, since you saw that this morning, I had to ask you something."

"Oh?" Was he going to ask her out? To be his girlfriend? No, not possible. She wasn't special enough, good enough. Sure, he could say he liked her, but as soon as she became too much trouble, too much of a bother, he'd leave. Best not to get her hopes up.

At least, that's what she told herself.

"I wanted to ask this the first night we met, but… the timing didn't seem right, I guess. Look, Rachel, I-" Tom's face was turning pink. "I-"

"Tomi, come on, just ask her already. You know you want to," Bill said from the doorway. Apparently, he'd stolen Tom's extra key and used it to sneak in.

"BILL! GET OUT OF OUR ROOM!"

"You room, is it?"

"_JA_! Now GET OUT!"

"Rachel, ignore him if he tries anything!" Bill ran from the room, cackling and completely ignoring Tom's yelling at him.

"You little rat, you are so dead when I catch you!"

"Yeah, but you have to ask Rachel first!" Bill's voice drifted up from the stairwell. "By the time you've done that, I'll be well hidden!"

Tom cursed under his breath. "Oh, well, Bill can't hide forever." Rachel snickered softly, causing Tom to look at her weird. "Don't laugh!"

"Oh, come on, Tomi, that was too funny!"

"Whatever."

"Hey, Tomi?"

"_Ja_?"

"Bill said you wanted to ask me something? What was it?"

Tom took a deep breath, his face turning almost as red as it had in the interview and blurted, "Willyougooutwithme?"

"What?"

Tom sighed deeply, still nervous, and physically forced himself to slow down. "Will you go out with me?" Rachel's hand flew to her mouth as her eyes went as wide as saucers. Did he really… Yes, he had. And she thought he meant it, as in, he wasn't asking because he felt sorry for her. He was asking because he actually wanted to!

Her arms flew around him before either of htem knew what was going on. Rachel laughed softly in Tom's ear before finally controlling herself enough to answer.

"Yes."

"You will?"

Rachel tilted her head back and smiled at him. "Yes, Tomi. I will." Tom's face lit with a huge smile and, on an impulse, kissed her. A quick peck on the mouth, but he might as well have completely made out with her, as far as she was concerned. Tom had kissed her! Rachel felt her face heat up and threaten to crack in half from her smile.

"Good. Should we tell the guys?"

"_Nein_, let them figure it out on their own."

"You're mean."

"Something I learned from someone I know."

"Bill?"

"No. You, doofus."

"Me? Never!"

"You."

"Nope."

"Yup."

"Nu-uh."

"Yup."

"_Nein_."

"Yup."

They continued that for while until Bill came in to ask them if they wanted to go to lunch. Tom shrugged and said he'd rather be alone with Rachel. Bill caught on almost immediately, probably due to the twin thing, and he left them alone. The rest of that day ended up filled with movie marathons, games, laughter, pranks, and eventually, a long make out session.

All in all, one of the best days of Rachel's life, and it marked the beginning of the best time of her life.

* * *

NYCK ALLMAN (3 MONTHS PREVIOUSLY)

Nyck stared at the pregnancy test in her hand. Positive. No way in hell. How was that possible? One night, and she was pretty sure they'd used protection. There was no way she could be pregnant. She was seventeen, for crying out loud. She had done it once, by mistake, and now she was pregnant. With a soft series of curses, she stepped out of the bathroom and headed for the drugstore.

There was no way she could be pregnant. That test had to have been defective; Nyck decided to get more tests just to make sure, to prove that first one wrong. Twenty minutes later, she had about five more tests and a Full Throttle energy drink, the kind that blows right through the system. Ten minutes after that, she was staring at the same tests, waiting for the results to show up and prove her right.

She couldn't be pregnant.

A few agonizing minutes passed; the first test began to change.

Positive.

Positive.

Positive.

Positive.

Positive.

Nyck stared at them, tears pooling in her eyes. She was pregnant. After one night of getting wasted, and losing her virginity to a guy she thought she mght be in love with, and she had ruined her chances for anything good in her life. Pregnant.

Hoo-boy, her father was not going to take this well. But wait… Nyck smiled grimly. Who said he had to know? Who said anybody had to know?

* * *

ONE MONTH LATER

After a month of keeping her pregnancy a secret, Nyck was starting to crack. It wouldn't be much longer before started to show, and then what would happen? Justin, her boyfriend of about six months and the father of her child, was going to flip; her father might just disown her, something he'd been threatening to do for years. Nyck sighed deeply.

She was going to have to tell them. Justin was first, since he'd probably be easier on her. Taking a deep, comforting breath, Nyck dialed her boyfriend's number and waited. After three rings, he picked up.

"What?" Nyck winced at Justin's tone, even though she was used to his gruffness by now.

"Hey, Justin."

"I've got stuff to do. What do you want?"

"I have something I need to tell you. Can you meet me at our special spot in ten minutes?"

"This had better be important, Nyck."

"It is. In fact, I should have told you a long time ago, but…"

"Don't waste my time. I'll see you in ten." With that, Justin hung up the phone. Nyck sighed. The guy was great and all, but he was such a jerk sometimes. Oh, well, the other half of him was good enough to make up for it. Hell, Justin was like Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde. He had one side that was all nice, treating Nyck like an actual girl; and there was the side of him like the one on the phone that treated her like she was nothing special to him. Sometimes she wondered which one was stronger. But she couldn't waste time debating about that now. She had to meet him in ten minutes, and it took about that to get from her hidden campsite to their hidden meeting spot. Nyck ran down the trail she'd spent years making and headed for their spot.

Nine minutes later, she arrived at the creek. A small cave, hidden by brush and with a good view of the creek. Justin was already there, and by the looks of it, he'd been waiting for a little while.

"What took you so long?" he demanded when she showed up.

"Sorry! I had to run here. Left my bike at home." In fact, she didn't have a bike; she'd borrowed her sister, Lya's, whenever they'd needed them. But Justin didn't know that.

"Whatever. Now what was that you needed to tell me?"

"You remember that night, about a month and a half ago, when we both got drunk in the club?"

Justin smiled slightly. "Yeah, I remember. What about it?"

"I'm pregnant. Because of that night."

Justin was silent for a moment. Then, "WHAT?"

"I'm pregnant, Justin. With your child."

"NO! We are not having a baby! I won't allow it!"

"You don't control me."

"Oh, I don't, do I?"

"NO. You don't. And I want to keep this kid."

"Why?"

"Because it's not fair to kill it for something I did that was stupid."

"Look, Nyck, we can't have a kid."

"I say we can. At least let me have it and then put it up for adoption."

"No, Nyck. This isn't negotiable."

"My child, Justin, my body. I can make my own decisions!"

"Then it's me or the kid."

"What?" Nyck's whole body went cold. What was he saying? After all the times he'd said he loved her and was willing to do whatever it took to keep them together? What?

"You head me." His voice was freezing; his eyes, emotionless. Did he not care?

"I can't lose you."

"You just did."

"I…"

"Which one, Nyck. Choose."

"I… I choose our child."

"Don't call it our child. It's yours now." He walked away, his eyes hard. "You and it are no longer my concern."

"But, Justin!"

He spun back around, anger flaring in his eyes. "But nothing, Nyck!" After a moment, he smiled slightly. "You haven't figured it out, have you?"

"Figured what?"

"I never cared about you."

"What?" Nyck heard the sudden weakness in her own voice.

"I. Never. Cared. About. You. I never loved you; you never mattered to me."

"Why did you tell me so, then?"

"You're so smart, you figure it out."

She thought about it. After a minute, realization hit. "You just wanted me for what happened at the club."

"For sex."

"Why?"

"Nice body. Naïve enough to believe what I told her. You." Nyck stared at him, suddenly feeling sick. He'd just wanted her body. Not her mind, not nothing. Hell, he didn't even want her family's money. He just wanted her body for sex. Nothing else. Gorge rose in her throat as he smiled at her, a smile that was cold, disgusting, and didn't reach his eyes. "Glad we got that sorted out." With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Nyck alone. She watched his retreating back and refused to allow her sickness to come out until he was long gone.

Love. He hadn't loved her. She had thought she loved him. Now, she felt lost. Angry, lost, confused, betrayed. How could she have been so stupid? How could he have betrayed her like that.

Guys were like that, she supposed. Lya had warned her. Lya had been right. Nyck rose to her feet, wiping her mouth. She should have listened to Lya. Maybe then, she'd still have trust. Maybe then, she wouldn't be in this much pain.

Trust. Love. The two most important things in her life, gone. Destroyed in a moment of misplaced faith.

Nyck put her hands over her face and cried.

**AN: so, here y'all go, chapter fourteen! Sorry about the depressing bit at the end, but it was necessary… and just a fair warning, nyck telling her parents isn't gonna go any better, but it has to be done…. Man I feel bad for nyck… oh, well…**

**Review please!**

**TwinSwords **


	15. Family Issues

**AN: hallo again, minna-san! Did y'all miss me? anywhoodles, I really don't want to write this chapter, or at least the first half of it, coz it involves me being reaaaaaaaally mean to poor nyck… not that I haven't been already… geez, it's a wonder my characters don't hate me… anyway, enough of my rambling and onto the story!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL (sadly) OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT EXISTS IN REAL LIFE. I DO HOWEVER OWN NYCK AND RACHEL, SO STEAL AND DIE! (obviously, I also own nyck and rachel's families, so steal them and die as well, even though I hate said families)**

Previously: _Trust. Love. The two most important things in her life, gone. Destroyed in a moment of misplaced faith. Nyck put her hands over her face and cried._

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

NYCK

She stayed there for what felt like hours, but what was probably only about ten minutes. That had not gone as well as she might have hoped. Now what was she going to do? She'd been counting on Justin's support when she spoke to her father.

Put simply, Justin had just screwed her over, in more ways than one.

Her family was one of the richest in St. Louis, and everyone but Nyck and Lya took that status way too seriously. Her father, especially. In the Allman family, there were rules for everything, which was part of the reason for Nyck's behavior the past few months: dating Justin, who her father considered "common" and unworthy of a simple glance, sneaking away to clubs, drinking, and finally that one night that had led to this whole mess. She was a rebel, dressing and acting the complete opposite of what was required in her family, purely for the sake of being apart. Unfortunately, because of that, her family considered her a black sheep, the one that really didn't matter.

In fact, ever since she was fifteen and started really getting into things that, if they came into light, would cause her family huge amounts of embarrassment, her father had been threatening to disown her. This was probably the one thing that would send him over the top. She'd be gone from the Allman family tree before she could sneeze, and that was a problem.

Realizing she was wasting time, Nyck carefully dried her tears and rose, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. She'd call Lya and get a ride home. From there, she'd take her time, and over dinner tonight, tell her father. That was the safest way. He was marginally less likely to hit the ceiling if her younger brothers were present. Otherwise… God knew the things he would call her, the things he would say about her. She could live without hearing it, even if she knew he thought it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

THAT NIGHT: OVER DINNER

Nyck sat at the dinner table, dressed in her normal attire: a neon green tank top, skinny jeans, and her ever-present combat boots. Everyone else was dressed up, as in Sunday attire. Even Joshua and Allen were wearing dress shirts and ties. Maybe tonight should have been the night to dress up. Oh, well. It wouldn't help anything.

She glanced around the table, ignoring the harsh looks from her parents and oldest siblings. Brendan and Kyoral were younger versions of her parents: obsessed with their public image, ashamed to be related to Nyck. Kyoral had never bothered to hide her distaste, and Brendan just ignored Nyck's existence, which was fine with her. She didn't care about them. Hell, the only people in her family she did care about were Lya, Joshua, and Allen. No one else mattered; no one else's opinion mattered.

Speaking of, she might as well get her "announcement" over with. She took a deep breath and felt Lya squeeze her hand under the table. Lya knew what Nyck was going through; knew and understood. She, at least, would stand by her ten years junior sister. Certainly no one else would. "Father?" Nyck asked, her voice stronger than she would have expected.

"What do you need, Nyck?" As usual, her father's voice was cold and unemotional. Nyck was used to that.

"I have an announcement. AKA, something really important that y'all need to know." She had long ago discovered she was incapable of speaking formally for more than one sentence, one of the many things that her parents found irritating about their youngest daughter.

"What is it?" Funny, there was actually something in her father's voice. What was it…? Oh, yes, it was annoyance. Lovely. He was already mad. That was really going to smooth things over. Not.

"Well, two things, actually. One, I broke up with Justin." She paused, thinking. "Actually, that's a lie. He broke up with me."

"And why is that?"

"Because I told him I'm pregnant."

The phrase "you could hear a pin drop" was an understatement for what happened next. Nyck swore she could hear her father's heart start pounding. The tension around the table could have been cut with a knife.

"And is that true?" Her father's voice was positively glacial. Nyck barely fought back a shudder.

"It is. Father."

"What are you planning to do about it?"

"Do, Father?"

"You certainly aren't going to _have_ it, are you?"

"Yes, actually. I was going to put it up for adoption after."

"NO!" Her father's sudden roar made everyone around the table jump, and caused six-year-old Allen to start crying. Apparently, this abnormal noise broke thought her father's rage as he ordered her second-oldest sibling, "Kyoral, take Allen and Joshua to the playroom." Kyoral smiled grimly at Nyck.

"Of course, Father. Come, Allen, Joshua." She took the boys' hands and led them from the room. Nyck's father waited they were well out of earshot to resume yelling at Nyck.

"I will not allow you to carry a child in public!" Nyck could have sworn flakes dropped off the ceiling from the pure force of his screech. Unfortunately, that same screech was swiftly grating down her last nerve. As her father drew breath to yell again, that last nerve snapped.

What're you gonna do about it, huh?" Nyck yelled back before he could speak. After everything else today, she just wasn't going to take her father's crap. "You gonna disown me? Huh? Are you? For what? Embarrassing you?"

"Perhaps."

Lya jumped in on Nyck's behalf. "Father, Nyck can't go through with this without support! You can't cut her off!" Her father glared at her, and Nyck gave her a grateful glance, even though she knew it was useless. Lya lowered her eyes for a second. "Father, she's seventeen; she's not old enough to be in the world on her own!"

"That doesn't matter. This is too big an embarrassment. I won't allow it." He turned away. "Nyck. If you choose to go through with this, you will not cross our threshold again." He then left the room, leaving an unsurprised, if suddenly depressed, Nyck and a thoroughly shocked Lya in his wake.

"Nyck…"

"Don't bother, Lya. I'm not changing my mind just because Father's an ass."

"But…" Lya sighed. "It's your choice, I guess. If you need anything, ever, don't hesitate to ask me."

"I do have one favor."

"What is it?"

"Can you keep all my Tokio Hotel posters for me? I can't fit them all in my tent."

"You're going to live there? You sure?"

"Yes."

"You could take my apartment."

"And take away your escape? No way in hell, Lya." Nyck grinned at her sister. "Yes, I'm aware that you have an escape, too. Where did you think I got the idea from?"

"You got that from me?!"

"Yup."

"Good grief, Nyck. I didn't realize I was that bad of an example."

"You were great, Lya. What's happened is my fault, and it's my choice from here. I'll be fine."

"You'd better be, little sister."

Nyck smiled sadly. This was the last time she'd see Lya for a while. "Help me pack?" The two of them raced to Nyck's room and shoved all her clothes and suchlike into two large duffle bags. Once that was done, Nyck stood in her bedroom for the last time. "Hey, Lya?"

"Yeah, Nyck?"

"Don't tell the kids why I left. I don't care what story you have to tell them, but don't tell them I won't be coming back."

"I will, Nyck." The two sisters studied each other for the last time. "I love you, Nyck."

"Love you, too, Lya. And we'll see each other again, right?"

Lya smiled. "Of course. No matter what Father says, you're still my sister; I'll find a way."

Nyck fought back sudden tears. "Good-bye, Lya."

With that, she left her family's estate, never to come back.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………....

PRESENT DAY: BILL

Bill sat sullenly on the couch in the bus. Tom and Rachel were talking softly to each other across from him, and Georg and Gustav were playing Super Smash Bros. yet again. All ignoring Bill.

_Ja_, he felt loved.

With a small sigh, Bill opened his phone, hoping to distract himself with phone games. Within minutes, he was bored again.

"Tomi, I'm bored," he complained to Tom, who just smirked at him.

"Aw, poor Billa."

"Don't be mean to him, Tom." Rachel smiled at Bill kindly, her grey eyes sparkling. Bill shot her a grateful glance which quickly turned into a glare as she continued, "We can do lots of stuff to make him less bored." Tom's smirk turned slowly into a slightly terrifying evil grin.

"I think I know what you're talking about!"

"I'm sure you do. Now, Bill…" she let her voice trail off; Bill gulped nervously. This was not going to end well.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

LATER THAT NIGHT: BILL

Nope, things did not end well, not at all. They'd ended up getting him and the G's to play several rounds of Truth or Dare. Bill sighed, trying hard to not remember what they'd made him do and failed. Utterly.

….…………………………………………_Memory_………………………………….................

_ Tom smirked evilly, ignoring the fact that he was wearing a pair of Rachel's underwear as a hat, therefore losing a large amount of his intimidation factor. However, it was still enough to scare Bill. He gulped, knowing full well that he was going to pay for earlier sometime in the next couple minutes._

_ "Bill!"_

_ Bill took a deep breath, deciding to get the hard part over with now instead of putting it off. "Dare." Tom's smirk broadened and Rachel lightly smacked his arm._

_ "Don't be too mean to him now, Tom."_

_ "I won't!" He turned back to Bill. "Go to the next room that has people in it, knock on the door and tell whoever opens it that you're not a virgin." Georg burst out laughing as Bill's face went beet red._

_ "CHICKEN!"_

_ "Sorry, no chicken."_

_ "_WAS_?" He hadn't mentioned that earlier. "You might have mentioned that earlier!"_

_ "Nope."_

_ "Hate you. So much."_

_ "You know you don't mean that. Now, out." Bill sighed, but went._

………..…………………………………End Memory…………………………………………....

_Gott_, that had been one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. Possibly worse than that time Tom made him sit in when he told their mom he wasn't a virgin anymore… okay, no, that was definitely worse. Nothing topped that, although this came pretty damn close.

"Dammit, why did he do that to me?" None of the others had been that embarrassing, although what Georg did to Tom was pretty bad. He'd had to put a pair Rachel's underwear on his head and run around the hotel lobby and then keep the things on for the rest of the game. Rachel, in turn, had ended up in a pair of Tom's boxers. Bill was seriously debating whether or not the things were clean… knowing Tom, probably not.

Man, he hoped she didn't find out. They were both liable to end up dead. Him because Tom was his twin; Tom because he'd picked out the boxers. Totally unfair, but so the new Rachel it was scary. Bill plopped down on the bed, glancing over at the door to Tom and Rachel's suite. She had changed a lot since she and Tom started going out, although they hadn't actually done anything.

Man, what Bill wouldn't give to find what Tom had found. Hell, he'd give up his career to have what Tom had now. Damn him, but he was jealous.

Bill got up quickly and shut the hallway door and turned all the lights off. With a surprising sureness, he headed back to his bead, somehow not falling over something on his way. He flopped facedown, not bothering to get undressed and was asleep within minutes.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………....

DREAMSCAPE: BILL

_Bill was lost in what looked like a forest. It had recently rained, to judge by the wetness in the trees and the muddy ground underfoot. Bill groaned. This sucked. His new combat boots were now coated in mud, and it was going to be a bitch to get it off. Dammit._

_ Wait._

_ There was a flickering light ahead, and it looked like a fire. He sniffed the air and was pleased to smell smoke. Yes! Fire meant people, which meant that they could help him get out. Thank God._

_ He slowly made his way toward the light, trying and failing to avoid getting more mud on his clothes. And water in his hair. He sighed irritably. Yup, this sucked._

_ Finally though, he got to the ring of trees surrounding the fire. He sucked in a breath in surprise at what he saw. A small, two-person tent was set up in the clearing, multiple large bags were stacked around, and a large woodpile was leaning up against the tree he was standing next to. In the center of the clearing was a log bench and a firepit, in which burned the fire he'd seen. On the bench sat what looked like a young woman, a girl._

_ Her back was to him, but he could tell she was female by the curves in her body revealed by the tight, neon green tank she was wearing. A studded belt wrapped around her waist, and she was had dark wash jeans on. Looked like skinny jeans, too. Whoever she was, she had a damn good fashion sense. Bill started to move forward, but something stopped him. He paused, taking more time to study the girl. She had short, light brown hair that was pulled back in a half-tail. For some reason, he wanted to touch it, to run his hands through it. Was this how Tom felt, when he looked at Rachel? Dammit, he wanted to know._

_ Who was this girl? Why did he want to hold her, hug her, talk to her, make her his? Bill sighed again, feeling a sudden protectiveness in him that was usually only reserved for Tom. Suddenly, as though she'd noticed his presence, she turned around. Her face stayed hidden in the shadows cast by her campfire, but that wasn't what he was looking at._

_ Her stomach. It wasn't large, but there was a definite bump there. He glanced back at the rest of her body, just to make sure there were no other bulges, like fat. There weren't. His eyes fell back to the bump at her belly. She was pregnant, and had no one to take care of her. That was why. He wanted to protect her, and her unborn child._

_ Hell, he had to. It wasn't a choice. He had to, and he wanted to. Silently, he made his way across the clearing and carefully laid his hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the light contact but then leaned into it. Taking this as permission, Bill sat next to her and put his arms around her. She relaxed into his embrace, and Bill felt his body go still._

_ This was perfect. She was perfect. She was his._

**AN: so there ya go, chappy 15!!!!!!!!!! *holds up applause sign* ok, sorry bout the T or D bit, I let my band brain off the hook there a bit, hehehehe…. Ok, I'm done… Y'all know the drill: hit the green button below and tell me what ya think!!!!!!!**

**TwinSwords saying seeya later!!!!!!!!!!!**


	16. Concert Tickets and a Long Bus Ride

**AN: yay, I'm here again! Aren't y'all happy? *waits* ok, whatever… anyway, here's chappie 16 for y'all! And thanks again to all my religious reviewers, plus those that listen to me ramble about this story constantly in Personal Fitness… you know who you are… and btw, to that same person, try to give me reviews on the website, it makes me feel good… ^_^**

**DISCLAIMER: Y'ALL SHOULD HAVE THIS MEMORIZED BY NOW, BUT: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL OR ANYTHING ELSE IN HERE THAT HAPPENS TO BE REAL. I DO, HOWEVER, OWN THE SUMMERS AND ALLMAN FAMILIES, SO STEAL AND DIE.**

Previously: _This was perfect. She was perfect. She was his._

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

BILL

"Bill… Bill... Tom's annoying whisper sounded in Bill's ear early the next morning. Bill groaned, debating whether to kill him now or let him live till the tour was over. As his twin continued to try and wake him up, he decided to just kill him now. As Tom finally got bored and just yelled his name right into his ear, Bill grabbed a nearby pillow and launched it at his twin's head. Perfect shot. Tom yelped and fell promptly off the bed. "What was that for?"

"Being annoying," Bill answered evilly, trying not to laugh. "And getting back at you for last night." At the mention of last night, Tom's eyes glittered.

"That was hilarious."

"For you!"

"Not just me. Georg was turning purple he was laughing so hard."

"I noticed that. Gustav?"

"I think he was just embarrassed to know us."

"Sounds normal."

"Yup."

"Rachel?"

"Umm…" Tom's face turned bright red, so Bill figured Rachel had given him some grief for that one. That made him happy. "She… she, umm…"

"What did she do, Tomi?"

"I think she recorded it."

Bill was silent for a minute. "She did WHAT?" Oh, she was going to pay for that one… but how? Regardless of her newfound outgoingness, she was still remarkably insecure in her own skin. He'd have to go about his plan carefully, without upsetting her too much. Otherwise Tom might kill him. His planning stopped when said twin spoke up again.

"That look on your face is scaring me, Billa. What're you planning?"

Bill put on a fake happy voice. "Nothing."

"Don't believe you. Besides, recording you was her dare."

"Really? She actually picked dare?"

"I think she was scared of what Georg would ask her for truth."

"I see." Damn, that meant he couldn't get revenge. That sucked nuts. Really bad. "Anyway, is there any reason for you getting me up at such an unholy hour?"

"We're heading out for St. Louis in a couple hours. Figured you'd want some time to get ready." Bill blinked at him.

"Oh. Why didn't you wake me up sooner!"

"Because you would have killed me!" Tom yelled as he suddenly sprinted out of Bill's room. "Rachel, help!"

"What did you do this time?" Bill had to laugh at the resigned tone in Rachel's voice.

"I woke Bill up."

"Then you deserve it." The sound of a door closing echoed down the hallway, followed by Tom pounding on it, half-begging her to let him in. Bill snickered; Rachel was turning Tom into a simpering fool. It was rather entertaining to watch.

He glanced over at the clock, sighed, and leaped out of bed to shower and get dressed. The next phase of their American adventure was soon to start, and he couldn't wait.

Something special was going to happen soon. He could feel it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

NYCK

Nyck sighed softly as the morning sun hit her face through the tent. Lucky she was a morning person; otherwise, the sun would be driving her nuts right now. She slipped out of her sleeping bag and crawled out of her tent, welcoming the cool summer morning air.

"Good morning, world!" she called to the woods around her, knowing there was no one around to hear. Grinning, she stepped lightly over to her firepit, groaning when she realized it had gone out during the night. This, sadly, meant she had to waste precious kindling restarting it. Bleh. With a sigh, she got the fire going again, then plopped herself down on her log bench, contemplating.

She'd had an interesting dream last night. If it were possible to have an out-of-body experience in dreams, then she'd done it. She'd been watching herself sit right where she was right now. Her dream self had been staring into the fire, gently covering her slight pregnant bump with one hand. As she'd sat there, someone, a young man by the looks of things, had randomly appeared from the forest behind her. He'd stood there for a long moment, then moved forward, frowning. How she'd known that, Nyck had no clue, because she couldn't see his face clearly, but she'd known. Anyway, he'd finally made it halfway across the clearing when her dream self turned around, causing him to stop. He'd stared at her in shock, apparently having noticed her bump. But it didn't seem to have turned him off, as he'd come forward again and hugged her. She had found herself waking up as her dream self leaned into the stranger's embrace.

It was odd, thinking she'd been dreaming about a guy, especially so soon after Justin dumped her, the douche. Nyck sighed, covering her slight pregnant bump with one hand. She normally thought herself the kind of girl that didn't need a guy around to make her feel good, but her subconscious seemed to think otherwise, which was annoying. She really didn't need this now.

Hell, she probably wouldn't need this ever.

But, whatever. Nyck sighed again, bored. This was the problem with living in a tiny campsite: there was nothing to do. Maybe she should invent a game to keep herself entertained. She was just about to get started when her phone rang. Grumbling about bad timing, she hopped up and ran to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Nyck! Good, you picked up!"

"Lya?" Nyck's eyes widened and her brain fired in confusion. Why was Lya calling?

"Who else, doofus!"

"Umm?"

"Exactly. Hey, can you meet me at my apartment in about fifteen minutes? I have something I want to show you."

"Okay?"

"Good. So I'll see you in a few!"

"Lya, what-" The dial tone cut her off. Grumbling again about annoying sisters and inconvenient phone calls, she lowered the phone, staring at it. "What the hell?" After a pause, she decided she didn't care. "Whatever, I'll find out when I get there."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER: LYA

Lya waited right by the door to her apartment, nearly bouncing with joy. Nyck was going to be so happy when she got her gift! Or at least, she hoped she would. Nyck was a quirky soul, rather hard to guess. She could appear to be completely fine and be depressed as hell. Likewise, one could think they found a perfect gift, but she ended up hating it. Not that she'd ever say that, of course. She was far too kind for that, but those who knew her well could always tell.

The doorbell rang suddenly, startling Lya out of her thoughts. With a soft chuckle at her own silliness, she opened the door, admitting a confused Nyck.

"What'd you want, Lya?"

"Is that how you speak to your older sister?"

"Of course."

"Meanie. Maybe I won't give you your present."

Nyck blinked. "Present? My birthday's not for three months?"

"Think of it as an early birthday present then. I doubt they can come back just for you in three months." Lya smiled at her sister as Nyck's eyes widened.

"They? You mean…"

"Tokio Hotel's coming here for a concert in a few days. I got you a ticket and a backstage pass." Lya's smile grew as Nyck's face went pale.

"You WHAT?" she shrieked a moment later.

"You heard me, silly. Come on, they're in here." Lya led Nyck to her kitchen where a box wrapped in birthday wrapping sat on the counter. Nyck raced over to it and picked it up, hugging it to her chest.

"Thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome. Now, tell me, how was your last doctor's appointment?"

Nyck sighed, the excitement draining out of her. "She told me that so far everything's normal, but she's still recommending abortion."

"Why is she doing that? You've already said you're not going to."

"I think it has something to do with the fact that I'm only seventeen." Nyck sighed softly, some of her pain showing on her face. Lya mirrored her sigh and wrapped an arm around her baby sister's shoulders. It was hard, she knew, to be seventeen, pregnant, and financially and legally cut off from her family. Nyck rarely showed any pain, though, as was her nature, but the few times it did show itself, people saw just how badly off she was.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

NYCK

Lya's arms around her shoulders were a huge comfort, more so than her sister thought. Nyck breathed in Lya's smell, so much more familiar and comforting than their mothers' and bit her lip, trying not to cry.

This was the only time she felt safe showing her feelings, but she still didn't want anyone to see them, even her beloved older sister. Tears were not welcome in Nyck's world, or any sign of weakness. She refused to allow anyone to see her true feelings, or how weak she really was.

"Nyck?" Lya's voice intruded harshly on Nyck's thoughts. "It's ok, really. Let go for a little while, all right?"

"I can't, sis."

Lya drew her to the couch, pushed her down, and plopped down next to her. "You need to. It's unwise to bottle everything up and never let it out."

"I do let it out, just not where anybody can see."

"Can you pretend I'm not here?"

"I can… I can try." Nyck closed her eyes, trying to picture an empty room. It didn't work; she looked back at Lya. "It's not working." A single tear dripped from her eyes at that admission. Horrified, Nyck turned her face away, hoping Lya hadn't seen it. As her sister's arms wrapped around her again, she knew it hadn't gone unseen.

"Let go, just cry." At those quiet words from the only person she trusted, Nyck's control shattered. Tears ran down her face in rivers; her whole body shook from the force of her sobs as nonsense words spewed out of her mouth. Lya just held her, stroking her back and whispering comfort to her, allowing Nyck's moment of weakness to pass.

Eventually, Nyck felt that she'd cried as much as she possibly could. Slowly, she pulled back from Lya and tried to smile.

"There. How's that? Better?" Nyck nodded, her face red. She felt Lya watching her, but chose to ignore it. After a moment, she heard Lya get up. "I'm gonna go make some tea. Want any?" Nyck nodded. "Honey and sugar, right?" She chuckled and nodded again. "All right then, I'll be right back, ok?"

As Nyck listened to Lya bustling around in her kitchen, she wondered if this was what normal families felt like. Not super-rich families like hers, where there were rules for everything, but a normal family, where the dad worked at an office and the mom stayed home with the kids. Where the kids teased each other, ran around like nuts, and generally caused mayhem. Where the mom would actually tuck her children in at night and tell them stories and sing them to sleep and hug them when they had a nightmare. Where the dad would actually want to spend time with them… Nyck sighed sadly. Her life hadn't been like that, would never be like that. Her dad only cared about his oldest children, the ones that would have something to do in his company. Her mom was a lawyer, and hadn't had the time to spare for comfort and love. Her childhood had been no childhood at all.

Slowly, Nyck's eyes closed as she tried not to think of her past, and succeeded. Sleep slowly snuck up on her, and she sank into a black unawareness and comforting silence.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

BILL

"Hey, Bill" Tom yelled at Bill as they crossed the Missouri border.

"_Was_?"

"I'm bored."

"And?"

"We need to do something."

"Why?"

"Because I'm bored."

"That's what the TV's are for, _dunkoff_."

"But…"

Rachel, thankfully, interceded. "Tomi, leave him alone. You can bug Georg or Gustav instead."

"Come on!"

"Nope. Besides, I have to talk to him."

"Can I listen?"

"NO!"

"Why not?"

"Cause I said so, now be a good boy and go away."

"But I don't want to!"

"Tom, get your butt down here and please remember that you're eighteen, not five!" Gustav's voice rang up from the lower level of the bus.

"FINE!" Huffing, Tom left, giving Rachel last-ditch puppy eyes, which she ignored.

"So you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah… you've been out of it for a few hours. You okay?"

"Umm… am I really that transparent?"

"Sorta, yeah."

Bill sighed. "I'm fine."

"Really?" Rachel raised an eyebrow at him, the expression eerily reminiscent of Tom.

"Has Tom been teaching you?"

"Huh?"

"The eyebrow thing."

"Oh, maybe. But you didn't answer my question."

"Nothing's wrong… just wondering how the next show's gonna do."

"If that's all, then you've got nothing to worry about; I'm sure it'll go fine." She smiled at him. "Help at all?"

Bill returned the grin. "Sorta." She turned to leave. "Hey, could you get Tom to come up here when you get down there?"

She looked confused but nodded. "Sure." Seconds later, he head her yelling for Tom; he came up only a little while after that.

"What did you want?"

"I had something to ask you. An idea for the concert."

"OK, shoot."

"So you told me that Rachel can sing well, right?"

"Yeah," Tom drew the word out, confused.

"Well, why don't we have her sing at the concert?"

"You think she would let us get away with that?"

"If she didn't know about it."

"Right."

"So is that a yes."

"She's going to kill you, you know that?"

"Most likely."

"So…"

"Come on, Tomi, it'd be good for her!"

"Fine."

"Yay!" Bill bounced on the bed, clapping his hands. Tom glared at him.

"But you tell her I had nothing to do with the plan. If she tries to kill you, it was all your fault."

"Why's it my fault?"

"Cause it was your idea."

"Ugh, fine."

"Good. Now, can I go hang out with my girlfriend or is there anything else you needed? Bill shook his head, trying not to smile. "Good." Tom headed back downstairs. "See you later, then!"

"See ya!" Bill snickered evilly as soon as his twin was out of earshot. This concert was going to be fun!

**AN: so I'm sorry it took so long to get this chappy out, stupid writer's block… so anyway, I'm not going to waste time on a long author's note this time, so I can possibly work on the next chapter, where nyck and bill finally meet, yay! *does happy dance* anyway, I'll shut up now!**

**TwinSwords says Seey'all Later!**


	17. Stories

**AN: so, ima back, aren't y'all happy? Anyway, here's chappy 17, do the happy dance! Ok, I'll stop being a retard now nad get on vith ze story!**

**DISCLAIMER: AS Y'ALL KNOW, I DON'T OWN ANYTHING THAT ACTUALLY EXISTS IN HERE, KK? SO NO COPYRIGHT, RIGHT? I DO OWN ALL ORIGINAL CHARACTERS, SO IF I SEE THEM SOMWHERE THEY SHOULDN'T BE, WHOEVER IS USING THEM IS GOING TO REGRET IT!**

_Previously: "See ya!" Bill snickered evilly as soon as his twin was out of earshot. This concert was going to be fun!_

…

TWO DAYS LATER, ONE DAY BEFORE CONCERT: NYCK

Nyck groaned as Lya called for about the billionth time and picked up the phone. "What do you want, Lya?"

Lya's scarily happy voice answered, "You and I need to go shopping!"

Nyck blinked, confused. "Why?"

"Because I'm not letting you go see your favorite band in your old jeans and whatever clean shirt you can find."

"Umm…"

"Come on, Nyck, just come with me; I'm bored out of my mind here!"

"But I-"

"My treat."

"But you-"

"Doesn't matter."

"I don't really have a choice here, do I?" Nyck asked, trying not to laugh.

"Nope."

"Fine, I'll come!"

"Yay!" Nyck burst out laughing as she heard Lya start cheering in the background.

"Don't die from happiness, now."

"That's not even possible."

"Sure it is. With you, anything's possible."

"Good point… Anyway!"

"I'll meet you at your apartment in twenty minutes, ok?"

"Sounds great, Nyck. See you then!" With that, Lya hung up, leaving Nyck confused as hell. Her sister was oddly happy about something, and Nyck _really_ wanted to know what it was. Sadly, though, Lya probably wouldn't tell her anything, 'cause she was just annoying like that. With a sigh, Nyck snapped her phone shut, thinking, '_At least I can charge my phone now…_' Grinning, she trotted off down the path and headed for her sister's apartment.

…

MANY HOURS OF SHOPPING LATER: STILL NYCK

About five hours later, Nyck arrived back at her campsite, laden with bags upon bags of clothes and shoes and God knew what else. Lya had really gone nuts with the shopping thing, not that Nyck was really complaining. She now had a new favorite shirt that would probably end up wearing out in a year because she was going to wear it so much. It was a three-quarter sleeve baseball-style shirt with green sleeves and a black body. A green anime-style angry cat was on the chest, under which was the word "Nya*!" She was now planning on covering it in neon paint splatters because she was bored. Once she was done with that, she'd have a shirt to wear to the concert tomorrow. Lya had also bought her a pair of pants, grey and white checkered, a couple new belts, one rainbow-checkered, one black studded, and a pair of Airwalks converse boots. She had also found a pair of bright yellow laces which Lya had put on them, much to Nyck's delight. And lastly, probably Nyck's favorite part, was the Hot Topic bag filled with steam-punk style fingerless gloves and wristbands and suchlike. Her favorite thing out of that bunch was a single red fingerless glove with a small darker red rose on it. It matched the red in her Tokio Hotel wristband, so it worked out.

Frankly, Nyck was highly pleased with the days' buys. Totally worth the ridiculous amount of money Lya had paid for all of it. Nyck smiled. Tomorrow night was going to be fun!

…

DAY OF CONCERT: BILL

"Hey, Rachel!" Bill laughed evilly to himself as he heard Tom calling for Rachel for the fifth time in ten minutes.

"What?"

"You are coming tonight, right?"

"The answer is the same as the last four times you've asked me that, Tomi."

"So?"

"So you're getting annoying and, yes, I'm still going." Bill snorted out loud as Rachel ended up still answering Tom's question even though she claimed he was getting annoying. Both of them turned to glare at him. "What're you laughing at, Billa?" Bill's laugher cut off at the nickname, and the only reason he didn't throw something at her was the thought of glorious revenge that would be happening later that evening.

"Nothing," he answered as innocently as possible. Tom rolled his eyes behind Rachel's back, but she didn't seem to notice anything. This was good. Maybe she wouldn't kill him later… Maybe.

Aw, hell, who was he kidding? He was a dead man later, no doubt. He only hoped she'd let him live until the tour was over unless she planned to take over his job as singer… but he doubted that. She was, luckily for him, still too shy for that.

"Bill?" Rachel's voice startled him; he jumped about a foot in the air. "Sorry. But Tom said to tell you that we're heading out in a little while."

"Oh."

"_Ja_, the others are waiting outside."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry, just hurry up and get your skinny butt out there."

"I'm not… ok, maybe I am." She smacked his arm lightly and shoved him out the door.

"Maybe nothing, Billa; you're way to skinny."

"I am not too skinny!"

"Yes, you are."

"_Nein_!"

"Don't start," she told him smartly. "Come on."

"I'm coming!" Bill followed her out to meet up with the others.

"Took you long enough, Bill!" Georg grumped as they all headed to the car.

"Shut up, Hagen!"

"Don't call me that!"

"Then shut up!"

"Ages, people!" Rachel and Gustav yelled at the same time. Gustav continued as the arguers shut up, "Need I remind you _again_ of your own ages?"

"_Nein_," Bill and Georg chorused meekly as Tom cackled in the background. Rachel just sighed.

"Remind me again why I know you people?"

…

AT CONCERT: NYCK

"Stupid lines," Nyck muttered under her breath as she stood in the longest line of her life. She had already been told that her backstage pass was going to have to be used later, as the band was getting ready, and they needed quiet before they went on not the added stress of meeting new people. Nyck, of course, was mildly offended until the guard, Tobi, explained that this was just policy and she wasn't the only one who had to deal with it. After that, she'd figured it made sense. However, now, she was wondering if it was worth it, considering the simply ridiculous amount of people making up the lines. With a small sigh of resignation, Nyck dealt with it, knowing it would be well worth it later.

It was indeed worth the wait, she decided an hour later. The band was just as good, if not better, live than on an iPod, and she was perfectly happy where she was. However, Bill was taking a little bit longer to start the next song than normal, and she and the rest of the audience were confused.

Bill suddenly lifted his mike to his face again and called out to the audience, "Are you all having fun tonight?" He comically tilted his head towards the crowd and was rewarded with a roar of "YES!". "That's great! Well," he continued, still smiling, "as some of you may know, we met someone rather special at our Atlanta concert. She's here now, and…" he trailed off as someone yelled from backstage.

"NO. WAY. IN. HELL!" A girl's head poked up from the stairs leading to the stage from backstage. Bill turned to talk to her; she shook her head firmly, so Bill urned back to his fans.

"She's going to perform one of our songs for you, if I can get her up here." The audience laughed as she glared at him and tried to duck back down. She wasn't fast enough, though, as Bill caught her arm and all but dragged her on stage. Nyck saw her mutter something to Bill that made him wince and shrug. The girl's shoulders dropped and her face took on an expression of resignation. Bill, ignoring her sudden change in demeanor, tugged her to center stage, his trademark 90-watt smile back in place. "This is Rachel, everyone, and she's going to perform 'Rescue Me'!" Nyck saw the girl give him one last glare and glance behind her at Tom as Bill handed her the mike and wondered.

Who was this kid? "Whatever. Maybe I'll find out later when I…" her voice trailed off as the beginning of "Rescue Me" started playing. After a moment, right on time, the girl– Rachel- started to sing.

_This used to be our secret_

_Now I'm hiding here alone  
Can't help but read our names on the wall  
And wash them off the stone  
I trusted you in every way  
But not enough to make you stay  
Turn around  
I've lost my ground_

Nyck stared at Rachel as she sang, thinking. There was something in the girl's voice that said she was singing from her heart, her true heart. Nyck had never heard that from Bill in this song. It was weird, but… No, it wasn't weird. It was beautiful.

_Come and rescue me_

_I'm burning can't you see_

_Come and rescue me_

_Only you can_

_Set me free_

_Come and rescue me_

_Rescue me…_

_We lied when we were dreamin'_

_Our cryin' was just fake._

_I wish you could deny it_

_Here and today…_

Rachel's eyes closed and her voice suddenly lost its nervous shudder.

_My SOS on radio_

_The only chance to let you know_

_What I fear…_

_Can you hear?_

_Come and rescue me_

_I'm burning can't you see_

_Come and rescue me_

_Only you can_

_Set me free_

_Come and rescue me_

_Rescue me…_

_You and me…_

_You and me…_

_You and me…_

Pure emotion rang through her voice and it grew a great deal stronger and more powerful as the bridge started. At the same time, the same fake wind that blew while Bill sang "Don't Jump" started blowing, throwing her waist-length black hair around her face, obscuring it for a second.

_The walls are coming closer_

_My senses fade away_

_I'm haunted by your shadow_

_I reach to feel your face_

_You're not here; are you here?_

Nyck felt tears prick her eyes at the sadness and desperate need in the other girl's voice. As Rachel continued to sing, Nyck heard a few sniffles from other girls nearby.

_Come and rescue me…_

_Rescue me…_

_Come and rescue me_

_I'm burning can't you see_

_Come and rescue me_

_Only you can_

_Set me free_

_Come and rescue me_

_Rescue me…_

_You and me…_

_You and me…_

_Rescue me…_

_You and me…_

_Set me free!_

_Rescue me…_

As the last chord faded away, Rachel turned marginally, allowing her still-waving hair to cover her face. Once the song was over, silence reigned, broken only by the sniffles and quiet sobs from people who had been affected by the girl's powerful voice.

Nyck, however, had fought the urge to cry until she'd browbeaten it back into submission and could now study the young woman on the stage. Her hair had been pushed back with a shaking hand, and Nyck could see that her face was now nearly sheet-white and her eyes were shooting around, never staying in one place for more than a couple seconds. She looked panicky, ready to bolt at the slightest inclination. Bill, apparently, wasn't as observant as Nyck, as he bounced back onstage, an arm slinging around her shoulders again, holding her in place.

She fought him, pulling against his restraining arm with an oddly desperate air. Bill refused to let go, causing her to mutter something in his ear. He then paused and made a pouty face at her; she chuckled, nervously, to judge by the look on her face, and told him something that made him turn bright red and remove his arm from her shoulders _rather_ quickly. Soon as he let her go, she waved to the audience with an obviously-shaking hand, and left the stage. Tom stared after her, looking oddly nervous himself. Nyck slipped forward, pushing between fangirls, until she could clearly see Tom's face.

Yup, he was worried. About Rachel, Nyck figured, so she tried to signal him as Bill began to introduce the next song. It took a minute, but he finally noticed her; she knew he had by his suddenly raised eyebrow, a typical Kaulitz expression. Nyck motioned towards backstage, raising an eyebrow in return. Tom tilted his head, then shrugged slightly, his worried expression coming back. She held up her backstage pass so he could see it and motioned backstage again; he looked startled but slowly nodded, his scared air disappeared to be replaced with a relieved one. Nyck grinned at him and started shoving her way back towards the doors, hoping the guard would let her back.

He did, ten minutes later when she finally got there, after hearing her explanation. If he thought it was weird that she was going back before the band got there, he didn't say anything. Once she got past him, it was a simple matter of tracking down the other girl. That didn't take too long, really, since Nyck had a general idea of where she'd be.

Well, that and there really weren't that many places a person could hide.

Either way, it only took about five minutes to find Rachel. The black-haired girl was sitting on a loveseat in Tom's dressing room, which was nearly empty, with only a couple of guitar cases and a small bag that was Rachel's, no doubt.

Speaking of, she was huddled on the loveseat, her knees drawn up to her chest, shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. Nyck slipped in and let the door close softly behind her. Rachel looked up, startled, her eyes wide.

"Don't worry; you're fine," Nyck told her. "Mind if I sit?"

"No…" Rachel's voice was surprisingly soft, especially compared to her singing voice earlier. Nyck chose to ignore this difference and plopped down next to her.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You wouldn't be sitting here crying if nothing was wrong. Tell me."

"I think I'd rather not."

"Just tell me."

"No."

"Come on. Tell…" Nyck's voice trailed off as Rachel's gaze suddenly dropped to her stomach. Her pregnant bump was slightly more visible now that she was sitting, and Rachel had obviously noticed it. A graceful, pale hand reached out and hesitated just above said bump. Nyck pushed the other girl's hand down so she could feel it.

"How long?"

Nyck blinked. No judgement, just an honest question. She hadn't expected that from anyone except for Lya. After a moment of silence, she answered, "About three months, almost four."

"Wow…" Rachel's dark grey eyes raised to Nyck's green ones, suddenly concerned. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"_Heilig… sheiß..._" Even though Nyck didn't speak German, she knew what the other girl had said, more or less.

"I made a stupid mistake, and I'm paying for it."

"Not just in the pregnancy?"

Nyck sighed and shook her head. "Nope. The father told me to pick him or the baby, and I picked the baby. When I told my father… he told me the same thing." Rachel's sudden intake of breath startled Nyck. So did the hug that followed.

"So, your family…"

"Kicked me out, yeah."

"Why?"

"They're rich bastards who only care about their money and their 'good name'," Nyck snarled, making air quotes around the words "good name". Rachel's hug tightenend; apparently she'd forgotten about her own issues in light of Nyck's. "Well, all except for my sister Lya and my younger brothers, Allen and Joshua. They're ok."

"I see…"

Nyck closed her eyes. Instead of just saying that, Rachel actually meant it. Apparently, somehow, she understood what Nyck had gone through. At that understanding, a wall between them fell to pieces and Nyck's story came spilling out.

All the years of being the Allman black sheep unwanted by her parents, teased by her older siblings, never being good enough for anyone but her sister and brothers, the ones who mattered least. As she talked, Nyck felt a lot of the pain she's suffered start to dissipate. It helped, knowing someone heard her story and didn't judge her for it. She felt friendship spark between her and the other girl as her story finally came to an end.

"And now, I'm here, on my own, and pregnant." She sighed. "That's all for me…" Rachel chuckled softly then spoke.

"I suppose it's only fair for me to tell you mine?" Nyck stared. That hadn't been her plan at all, but she supposed if that worked, then…

"You can."

Rachel's story was harsh: a father who left when she was ten, a mother and sister who hated her, broken promises… all leading up to why she was here. "I met Tom at their concert in Atlanta. He saved me when I passed out by the stage, helped me when my sister showed up, invited me to stay with them… and now," she paused, blushing, but Nyck had already figured that one out.

"You're dating, right? You're the girl he was talking about in that Little Rock interview." Rachel nodded. Nyck was about to respond when the door flew open, revealing Tom, who slowly came in, staring at Rachel.

"Why didn't you tell me that before?"

Rachel stared at him, her face suddenly beet red. "I wasn't-" She was cut off as Tom grabbed her in a giant bear hug. Rachel squeaked but hugged him back tightly.

Nyck felt like an intruder, so she slipped out the door, closing it silently behind her.

She wondered if she'd ever have that: a guy that was willing to forgive secrets, that was willing to comfort her when she needed it. Ignoring the sudden pang in her heart, she turned and yelped as she ran neatly into a black-leather-clad chest.

**AN: ha, a cliffhanger! I'm so evil to you guys, sorry! (love you!) anyway, hope you're happy with this chappy and sorry I lied (bill doesn't "meet" nyck until NEXT chapter… oops… guess my planning was off… ah, well, we'll prolong the torment a LITTLE BIT longer… you'll live!**

**Review please, tell me what was good and what wasn't (if anything) and I may update faster!**

**Love you all and I'll see you later!**

**TwinSwords**


	18. More Awkwardness!

**AN: harro, again, my precious readers! To those of you who checked out my new story, THANK YOU! And have you been enjoying it? I had fun writing it… but anyway, before I bore you… ON TO THE JOY THAT IS FOUR GIRLS, FOUR GUYS!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT EXISTS IN REAL LIFE! I DO, HOWEVER, OWN ALL ORIGINAL CHARACTERS, AND I WILL KNOW IF THEY'VE BEEN USED ELSEWHERE AND I WILL NOT BE HAPPY! AKA, STEAL AND DIE!**

Previously: _ Ignoring the sudden pang in her heart, she turned and yelped as she ran neatly into a black-leather-clad chest._

…

BILL

Bill groaned softy as Tom rushed offstage at the end of the show. He'd been twitchy during the last few songs, and Bill had the feeling he was worried about something, or just had the feeling that someone was talking about something important.

Bill half wanted to know what it was, and half wasn't sure it was something he wanted or really needed to know. Either way, it was going to drive him mad!

So, when Tom took off, Bill allowed his curiosity to overcome his better thinking and followed, curious as to what had his brother's boxers all in a knot. Unfortunately, he couldn't really let his twin know he was following, so he hung back, talking to Gustav until he and Georg went off for leg stretches. Bill drifted off towards Tom's dressing room, only to find that the door was shut and he could barely make out voices from inside. He grumbled mentally about secrets and decided to eavesdrop. He slowly crept up to the door, only to get smacked in the face with it when someone opened it.

He jumped back just in time to avoid getting a door-induced concussion then froze in shock. A girl, probably around sixteen or seventeen, backed silently out of the room, closing the door with barely a click after her. Bill's breath caught as he unashamedly stared at her. Hey, she couldn't see him. Staring was only rude when someone caught you. Even as he studied her, though, some part of him wanted to take her in his arms and just hold her.

Odd. Really odd.

She sighed softly, almost inaudibly, and turned around, apparently hoping to head back down the hall. She didn't get particularly far- only about three inches, in fact- as she slammed into his chest.

"Oomph!" she grunted and stumbled back; she probably would have fallen if the door hadn't been so close behind her.

"Sorry!"

"Huh?" She slowly raised her head, and Bill felt his heart squeeze slightly at the first good glimpse he got of her face. Green eyes so bright they almost glowed surrounded by slightly tanned, freckled skin; a heart-shaped face framed by light brown hair. He didn't really even notice what she was wearing, which was normally something he saw immediately, he was so captivated by her face. "Oh, my bad, Bill!" A slight blush rose in her cheeks as she stepped briefly around him.

"_Nein_, it was my fault."

"Whatever, I'm still sorry! Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have to-" She was leaving! No, this would not do!

"Can you stay for just a little while? Maybe we could talk, or something?" Man, that sounded lame, even to him! Good thing Tom was busy with Rachel, or he'd never hear the end of it.

"Is that something you learned from Tom?"

"NO!" He felt his face go beet red. "Tom's pick-up lines are normally better than that."

"Really? By 'better' d'you mean 'corny'? 'Cause that's what I think of when I think of Tom's pick-ups." Bill stared at her for a couple seconds before bursting out laughing. She looked playfully offended. "Don't laugh; it's true!"

"It's still probably the funniest way I've heard Tom's lines described before. I've heard 'poetic, 'amusing', every once in a while, 'lame' but this is the first time I've heard 'corny'.

"I see."

"Anyway!"

"Ugh, fine, I'll go 'talk, or something'."

Bill made a sad face at her. "You're making fun of me!"

"Yes, I am, weakling." She looked up at him and grinned at the face. "And quit it with the face, it's not gonna work."

"And why not? And what's your name, by the way; I forgot to ask."

"It's Nyck. I have two younger brothers. They've made that face an art." She smiled sadly at the mention of her brothers. Bill couldn't bear to see her look like that, so he grabbed her hand and began hauling her towards his dressing rooms. Apparently, though, he was going a tiny bit too fast, because a bit later, she called to him, "Hey, could you slow down some?"

He glanced back to see her holding her stomach with a slightly pained look on her face. He stopped and carefully made her look at him. "Something not agree with you?"

She shook her head. "Not something I ate." Bill stared at her, ignoring the odd look she gave him when she caught him. Slowly, without him really being aware of it, his hand reached out to touch her stomach, right above where her hand was. There was a small bump there. Not a fat bump, a solid bump. Small, but he felt the life in it.

"You're…" His voice trailed off as her eyes met his. Green, and glowing. _Just like his dream girl_… How? Was that real, or was he just crazy?

"Yes. Three months, more or less."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"_Heilig_… Nyck, what…?"

"Something stupid. The father got me drunk, used me, and then dumped me when he found out he'd gotten me pregnant and I informed him I was going to have it."

"Whoa." Then Bill gave into his urge to hold her. His arms were around her shoulders; her head fell against his chest after a few tense seconds. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok… I'm better off without him, anyway… Same with my family."

"What?"  
"My parents legally disowned me because of this…" Her voice was quiet, and he sensed she was uncomfortable talking about this.

He tightened his grip around her, hoping he was giving her a little bit of comfort. When she leaned against him, her arms rising to hug him back, he knew he was.

…

NYCK

"Something stupid." Nyck tried to stop there, but some small part of her refused. "The father got me drunk, used me, and then dumped me when he found out he'd gotten me pregnant and I informed him I was going to have it."

What the hell was she doing? Bill Kaulitz did NOT need to know the details of her sad history! Why the hell was she telling him this stuff?

"Whoa." She mentally braced herself for him to flip out on her, but all he did was slip his arms around her shoulders in a friendly hug. "I'm sorry." She let her head drop to his chest with a small sigh before answering.

"It's ok… I'm better off without him, anyway… Same with my family." Nyck slowly

Nyck mentally slapped herself and ordered her mouth to stop moving. It ignored her when her mind heard Bill's next question.

"What?" The outrage in his voice startled her into answering. Either that or her mouth was completely disobeying her.

"My parents legally disowned me because of this…" Her voice was weak, far weaker than she wanted it to be. Why? Why did her strong front disappear around this… what was he? Not a kid, he was a year older than her. Eh, screw it; she'd call him a kid. He acted like a kid half the time anyway. She tried to pull away, feeling rather awkward spilling her sob story to her idol. He seemed to sense that, as he tightened his hold on her shoulders and didn't say another word. The part of her that had stopped trusting guys after Justin wanted to pull away before Bill sank any more hooks into her; the other part of her wanted to stay here forever.

The second part won.

"So, Bill?"

"Hmm?"

She pulled back from his embrace just enough to look up- _way_ up- into his face. "You mentioned something about us talking?" He smiled, his eyes lighting up again.

"Yes, I did." His smile broadened, to the point of splitting his face in half. "You want to?"

"Part of me, yes."

He looked slightly hurt. "Only part of you?" he teased.

Nyck's eyes closed briefly, ignoring the slight pang in her chest. Bill was trustworthy, he was trustworthy. He wasn't going to break her heart again. Not like Justin. He understood, he would help put her heart back together, not shatter what was left. He would-

Her thoughts were cut off by a gentle, cold hand on her chin, forcing her head up. She carefully allowed her lids to lift and look up into Bill's concerned brown eyes. His fingers stayed on her chin, keeping her eyes on him.

"I'm sorry, Nyck."

"What?"

"For that. I'm sorry if I hurt you in some way."

"It wasn't you…" She debated whether or not to go further, but her mouth had already decided. "I just… My ex left me with a few issues… Guy issues…" She winced, waiting for him to tell her to leave. It didn't happen.

Instead, he gently caressed her face briefly before dropping from her chin to the hand covering her stomach. "Come on." She allowed him to tug her forward; Bill was in serious mode. This didn't happen often, and when it did… Uh-oh… This meant he was going-

Bill suddenly whipped around and lifted her into his spindly-looking arms before she could squeak. Which she did, loudly, right in his ear. "Ow."

"Your own fault for picking me up without telling me! And put me down!"

"_Nein_!"

"Come on, Bill, put me down!"

"Don't wanna!"

"Why are you carrying me?"

"You're pregnant, and I just made you feel sad."

"So, you think carrying me makes up for that?"

"Pretty much."

"It doesn't." She smacked him upside the head. "That does. Put me down now."

"Nope!"

"Bill!"

"Not."

"Come on, put me down!" She started wiggling around, trying to make it impossible for him to hold her.

"Stop that!"

"Put me down!"

"What have I been saying?"

"Bill?" A new voice entered the argument, confused and slightly concerned. "So, now that Tom has a girlfriend, are you trying to pick up his duties?"

"NO!" Nyck ignored Bill's suddenly red face and studied the new person. Long-ish brown hair, green eyes… Georg. That's his name! Nyck beamed, proud of herself for remembering. She tended to mistake him for Gustav… Who was… elsewhere, apparently.

"Bill, put me down."

"No!"

"Why are you carrying some random girl?" Georg asked, obviously intent on embarrassing Bill in front of Nyck.

"Not telling!"

"AGES!" Bill and Georg exchanged sheepish glances at the yell from the room Georg had come out of. Bill shook his head and maneuvered past Georg and headed back to his dressing room while Georg went back into the other room.

"Sorry, Gusti," she heard him say as Bill carried her into his room. Once there, he set her down on the couch, grinning when she sulked and glared at him.

"That was fun!"

"For you!"

"Admit it; it was fun for you, too!"

"Keep telling yourself that, kid."

"I'm older than you!"

"I'm more mature than you!"

"Says the one who's sulking because she just got carried!"

"Shut up, Billa!"

He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Why does everyone call me that?"

"Because it annoys you. It's why my little brother Alan calls me Nycki! Or Nycki-Nycki. Or some other random nickname that he pulls out of his head. He's quite creative."

Bill plopped down next to her. "How old are your brothers?"

"My two younger are five and seven."

"Two younger? How many siblings do you have?"

"Five."

"What?"  
"Three older, two younger. Two sisters, three brothers."

"Wow."

"Eh. The only ones I care about are my closest sister Lya, who's twenty-six, by the way, and Alan and Joshua, my younger brothers."

"Oh. Still, wow."

"Ok, changing subject now."

"Okay, um… You said you're three months pregnant, yes?"

"Um, yeah? Why?"

"You said new subject!"

"Yeah, but…"

"I changed the subject."

"Ugh, fine!"

He did a victory dance, making her burst out laughing, before continuing his questions, "Do you have to go the doctor yet?"

"Yeah, you start having to go as soon as you know. Why do you want to know?"

"Curious, I guess."

"That's not it, Bill, I can tell. What's going on?"

He sighed heavily, his eyes not quite meeting hers. "I… I don't really know, Nyck… Some part of me wants to… not protect you, just… _Gott_, I don't even know what I'm saying; just forget it." He covered his face with his hands, sighing again. "I don't want to be… creepy, but… Ugh I said forget it, didn't I?"

Nyck stared at him, concerned. Bill wasn't normally like this. "You want to take care of me?" she asked, attempting to tug his hand away from his face and failing. Dangit, he really was stronger than he looked! "Come on, Bill, look at me." Finally his hands fell and he looked up at her, embarrassed. She repeated her question.

"I guess?" he answered, obviously not sure if that's really what it was.

"Thanks. It's nice to know someone else outside Lya still cares."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that only my sister Lya and my two younger brothers still care what happens to me."

"Well, now you have someone else." He seemed to have gotten over his issues and was now back to his normal self. Good. Him depressed was scary. Bill should never be like that. Ever. She leaned back into his shoulder.

"Thanks, Bill." Her eyes drifted closed, and she thought irritably of the long walk from here to her campsite. She really didn't want to walk all that distance. It wasn't worth it…

"Hey, Nyck?"

"What, Bill?"

"Will you stay with us tonight?"

"Did you just read my mind?"

"Um, I don't think so, why?"

"I was just thinking I don't want to walk back to where I've been living since… Well, since I got kicked out of my family."

"Where is that?"

"Euhm, a campsite. It's a place I used to go when I was younger to get away from everything for a little while. It helped me to avoid becoming like my oldest siblings and my parents." She sighed.

"So is that a yes?"

"That's a yes."

"Yay!" Bill bounced on the couch, almost bouncing Nyck off, and clapped his hands happily. "I should go let the guys know…" he trailed off as he bounded out of the room. Nyck stared after him, wondering when the aliens had screwed around with Bill's head and made him bipolar. Before she'd even finished the thought, he was back in. "Sorry, I forgot to ask! When's your next doctor's visit-thingy?"

"It's in a couple days, I think. Lya made it."

"OK. Do you mind if I come?"

"Not really, but are you sure you want to? They don't know who the father is."

"So they may think it's me? That's fine."

"You don't care?"

"Nah. In fact, I- Never mind."

"O-kay… So, yeah, I'm fine with that if you are."

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't. So now I'm really gonna tell the guys." Once again, he practically skipped out the door, and she really had to wonder if he was on something. How else would he be so darn happy?

This was going to be interesting. Nyck had always liked Bill, both his general happiness and his understanding. Maybe his desire to care for her would turn into something… Or maybe she was reading into this far too much. Either way, the next few days were vital.

Only time would tell.

**AN: so, that's chapter 18, finally! Again, I'm so sorry for taking so long! But I hope you've been enjoying Broken Healing in my absence… anyway, I love you all and would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this chapter… I know it was a little more serious than some of the others, but I hope it wasn't too serious… was it fun enough? Too serious? Humorous? Tell me what you think, and I will love you forever!**

**TwinSwords out!**


	19. NOS

[Type text]

**AN: harro people! I've missed y'all! ^_- anyway, I got hit with the joy that is writer's block so ima gonna try and shove through it with- brace yourselves- a chapter of filler…. I'M SORRY! FORGIVE ME! I'll make up for it in Nyck-Bill fluffies in this chapter, I'm hoping…. More than likely, I'll be back on schedule after this, but… if not, if any of y'all happen to have any suggestions, I'll be happy to take them! Heck, I'll be happy to take them in any case!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOKIO HOTEL OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT EXISTS IN REAL LIFE (sadly). I DO, HOWEVER, OWN NYCK AND RACHEL AND THEIR FAMILIES! STEAL AND DIE!**

_Previously: __Or maybe she was reading into this far too much. Either way, the next few days were vital. Only time would tell._

…

BILL

A lot of nothingness ran through Bill's mind as he rushed off to find the other guys and let them know that yet another random girl was staying with them, if only… No, if he had any say in the matter, Nyck would be staying for longer than that, but it would probably be best if he didn't mention that quite yet.

A quick peek in the greenroom gave him Georg and Gustav, who were going through Gustav's post-show leg stretches. A guard stood nearby holding a water bottle just in case Gustav needed one. Bill flung the door open, causing all three of them to twitch in surprise.

"Geez, Bill, hasn't Tom taught you to knock?" Georg grumbled after he'd gotten over the Bill-induced heart attack.

"Tom never has anything useful to teach!" Bill retorted. "So, _nein_, he hasn't taught me to knock, obviously." Georg sighed, along with the guard; Bill pouted. Surely they'd be used to his craziness by now! But, apparently not, as they exchanged an eye roll.

"Anyway, since you burst in here, I'm assuming you have something to say?"

"_Ja_, I invited that girl I was with earlier-"

"The one you were carrying?"

"Yes, Hobbit, her. Anyway, I invited her to stay the night with us."

The guard spoke up from the corner. "Why?"

"She has no way of getting back to her house, and, well…" Georg burst out laughing as the guard looked on in confusion. Gustav just ignored them, attempting his leg stretches on his own.

"Bill's got a crush!"

Bill went beet red, "I do not!"

"Yes, you do! You're turning all red!"

"So?"

"Billi's got a crush!"

"I DO NOT!"

"Shut up already!" Gustav suddenly yelled from the floor. Georg's eyes widened after remembering that he was supposed to be helping him.

"Wait till I tell Tom about this…" He mumbled just loud enough for Bill to hear.

"Tell him and I kill you!"

"Ages. Seriously, and I thought it was only Tom and Georg," Gustav threw in, interrupting their argument. Bill huffed and went in search of Tom.

As he'd suspected, he found both his twin and Rachel hiding out in Tom's dressing room. (Bill personally didn't consider it that, as it was filled with Tom-junk, not dressing-room-junk, but, hey.) Rachel was curled up on the loveseat, and it looked like they were having some kind of heart-to-heart. Bill felt bad to interrupt, but figured he had to. "Hey, Tom?"

"Yeah?" Tom's growl would normally have had him running for cover, but right now, he ignored it.

"We're going to have another guest tonight, okay?"

Tom slowly turned to face him. "Who?"

"Girl I met. No, not that way, I just ran into her in the hallway."

"Name?"

"Nyck."

"Bill… Don't take over my job."

"WHY DO YOU ALL KEEP TELLING ME THAT? I'M NOT YOU!" Bill yelled, causing Tom to smirk. Rachel smacked him on the arm.

"Be nice to your brother."

"Why?"

"Cause."

"Ugh, fine."

"Now, tell him you're sorry," Rachel ordered, obviously enjoying the power she had over Tom. Bill had to smirk; girl had him whipped and wrapped around her finger. He turned to look expectantly at Tom.

"Yeah, Tomi! Say you're sorry!" Tom groaned.

"What is it with you two?" Neither Bill nor Rachel responded. "Fine. Sorry, Bill."

"Yay!" Bill hugged him, then exchanged grins with Rachel, trying to hide the fact that he was surprised she wasn't killing him for making her sing. Maybe… Nope, he'd just hope she had forgotten how mad she was at him. If he was lucky, she would have.

"Oh, by the way, Bill!"

"_Ja_?"

"You owe me for tonight." His luck had gone on vacation, apparently.

"All right, all right. But, look, I'm gonna go back to Nyck, I just wanted to let everyone know she was staying with us tonight."

"So you already told the G's?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, but I think we're heading out soon."

"Sure. I'll meet you guys at the door in a few minutes."

Tom nodded, and Bill headed out, back to Nyck.

…

NYCK

After Bill left the second time, Nyck flopped back on the couch, trying not to think. Bill had said he didn't care if people thought her baby was his, but Nyck did. He was too important a figure to a lot of people for something like that to ruin his image. Hell, _she_ would ruin his image. After all, that was all she ever did, according to her family. Nyck shook her head firmly, forcing such thoughts out of her head. There were people that mattered more than her father and the jerk that had caused all this.

They were wrong. People like Lya and Bill were right. Nyck sighed softly, trying to think of way to get these thoughts out before they took over; that was usually the safe path. If she didn't, things were likely to go downhill fast, and Bill really didn't need to see her in her weakness. No one did, except maybe Lya.

Drat, there she went again. Nyck growled and forced herself up off the couch, searching for some form of distraction. Hopping to her feet, she headed in the direction of the door, hoping Bill would be somewhere nearby. She needed distraction, badly. Just as she was heading out, Bill turned down the hallway.

"Nyck!" She jumped, having not expected his voice to be so loud. "You weren't planning on leaving were you?"

"Pfft, no. I just… I need something else to think about."

He nodded knowingly; she prayed he didn't actually realize just how close to being completely vulnerable she was right now. Although, knowing Bill Kaulitz, he probably had at least some idea. "Sure. Hey, we were gonna head out soon, so…"

"Sounds good." He smiled that ninety-watt smile of his and grabbed her hand.

"Come on!"

"Bill!"

"_Was_?"

"You're allowed to walk, you know!"

"Sorry!" He yelled happily without slowing down.

…

NYCK (on the way back to the hotel)

Nyck fought back a yawn, fighting the urge to sleep. She was bored, mildly exhausted, but in no mood to waste the possibly only night she'd have with Bill. Hence, "Hey, Bill?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you guys have anything aside from alcohol back at the hotel?" Tom went bright red and immediately looked out the window. He had snuck a few beers into the fridge, unbeknownst to everyone but Rachel.

"As far as I know, we don't have any," Bill answered, in response to Nyck's question, and she nodded.

"I'm in need of caffeine; do you have any of that?"

"Umm…" Bill hesitated, glancing at the others. "Do we?"

Georg and Gustav shook their heads. "Don't think so," Georg mumbled tiredly. "But I could do with some myself."

Nyck felt a smile slowly appear on her face. This was perfect; she'd get them all ridiculous amounts of caffeine, get them all high on it, and…. Oh, the hilarity that would ensue. She fought back a maniacal laugh, and asked, "In that case, do you guys mind making a quick run to some store for me to get some?" The others nodded, and Bill leaned forwards to ask the driver to take them to the nearest grocery store.

Ten minutes later, Nyck was sprinting down the aisles towards the soda isle, hoping she'd be able to find some NOS, that joyful energy drink she loved so much. Bill was trailing slowly behind her, his hood pulled up over his wild hair, apparently praying to avoid getting noticed. Nyck had to smile; he already had been: there were a couple girls wearing Tokio Hotel shirts stalking him. She shook her head, forcing her attention back to finding her caffeine, leaving Bill to fight off the scary fans by himself. Once she found it, and of course she did, she headed back to Bill, finding him attempting to hide in the candy aisle. The stalker girls had managed to find him and were debating whether or not they wanted to get his autograph. Nyck figured she'd be nice.

"Take a picture, girls, it'll last longer." Okay, so maybe that wasn't so nice, but… she could've been meaner! With that lovely parting comment, she brushed past them and grabbed Bill's elbow. "Got it, can we go?" He grabbed several bags of Skittles and followed her.

…

NYCK (at the hotel)

Nyck smirked. So far, her plan had worked perfectly. They'd split the candy Bill had bought, plus the NOS she'd picked up, and were all basically bouncing off the walls. She and Bill had talked earlier while standing in line about the last time the group had played certain games that had involved Bill ending up in an embarrassing situation. He wanted to get back at Tom for it, and Nyck, being Nyck, was only too willing to oblige.

"Hey, Georg, can I talk to you for a minute?" she practically screamed in the bassist's ear.

"What?" he yelled back.

"Come with me," she ordered, dragging him out into the hall. "So, I had this idea."

"Oh, boy."

"Shut up. So, Bill was telling me about the last round of Truth or Dare you guys played."

"Yeah?" Georg asked carefully, not sure where this was going.

"He wanted to get back at Tom, and I wanna help."

"Where are you going with this?"

"I have an idea."

"Oh, boy."

"Naked run down the hall. You pull the fire alarm, I record what happens from the elevators."

Georg started to grin. "I like this idea. Does Bill know about this?"

"Yeah, he's the one who's gonna do the daring."

"Sounds good to me, but…"

"What?"

"Rachel might just kill Bill."

"Nah, she'll come after me; it was my idea."

"All right then." His grin widened, and Nyck once again had to force back a laugh. "Let's do this!"

The two of them reentered the room, and Nyck plopped down by Bill. "Hey, guys!" A series of "What"'s echoed through the room. "How about a game?" A series of "Yes"s. "Any suggestions?"

"Strip poker," from Tom.

"7 Minutes in Heaven" from Rachel.

"Truth or Dare," from Georg and Bill.

"I agree with Georg and Bill," from Gustav.

"Aw, but we always play that!" Tom complained, but Nyck ignored him.

"Truth or Dare it is, then!" Tom groaned, but everyone else seemed pleased with the idea. "I'll start, ok?"

A unanimous, "Sure," came from everyone.

"Bill!"

"Truth!"

"What's the most embarrassing thing you and Tom have ever done?"

Bill went beet red and Tom hid his face in Rachel's hair. "I once kissed Tom at a bar. I was drunk and…. I thought he was pretty." Nyck forced herself not to laugh.

"Right then. Your turn!"

"Tomi!"

"Oh, god. Um, dare?"

Bill smiled evilly. "Payback time, dear brother!"

"Shit."

"I dare you to run naked down the hallway."

"Fine." Tom rose, stripped, causing Rachel to look away, red in the face, and headed towards the door. Nyck, having grabbed a camera from her room, ran out before him and stayed by the elevators, waiting for Georg to hit the fire alarm. Seconds after Tom entered the hallway it started blaring.

People sleepily left their rooms, confused, and Tom froze in place, halfway down the hall, then, when people saw him, he tried to bolt back to the room.

"No, no, bad Tom!" Nyck called from the elevators. "Run down here and then you can go back!" He cursed, but sprinted down the hallway, tried to grab the camera from her, failed, and then raced back to the safety of the room. Nyck followed him and high fived Bill, handing him the camera. "There's your revenge, Bill!"

"I hate you all!" Tom yelled from the bathroom, where he'd gone to hide and get dressed again.

"Love you, too, Tom!" they all called back, laughing.

Nyck sighed. Yup, this night was totally worth it all, but the next she knew it couldn't last, this wonderful feeling of belonging. Something was going to go wrong, she just had no clue when.

**AN: so, here's 19, finally…. SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT, WRITER'S BLOCK SUCKS! It's filler, I'm sorry, but I had to have tomi-tormenting in here somewhere, so…. Here it is, peeps!**

**TwinSwords signing off!**


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